Six Afghan policemen killed in attack

KANDAHAR: Afghan officials say at least six police officers have been killed after two fellow police opened fire on them in southern Kandahar province.

Two provincial officials confirmed the Sunday attack, which they said also wounded the Kandahar City district police chief. Both spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Qari Yusouf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement saying that both attackers were their men who joined the police rank just carry out such attack and both devoted their lives for their aim.

Taliban insurgents have increased their attacks against Afghan security forces across the country.

On Saturday, explosions ripped through the funeral of an Afghan anti-government protester in Kabul, killing at least seven people and wounding dozens in fresh carnage that spiked tensions in a city already on edge.

The latest killings, which could provoke a new cycle of bloodshed, bring to 101 the number of people killed this week with hundreds injured in one of the worst bouts of violence in the Afghan capital for years.

Witnesses reported three back-to-back blasts during the burial of Salim Ezadyar, who was among four people killed on Friday when a protest over spiralling insecurity in Kabul degenerated into street clashes with police. The hilly, wind-swept cemetery was littered with human remains, with one witness telling AFP that “people were blown to pieces” due to the impact of the blasts.

“So far seven dead bodies and 119 wounded people have been brought to Kabul hospitals,” Health Ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh told AFP.

The funeral of Ezadyar, the son of an influential Afghan senator, was attended by senior government figures, including Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, but they escaped unharmed.