Afghan officials: Latest Taliban attacks kill 13 policemen

KABUL – Taliban attacks overnight in Afghanistan killed at least 13 policemen and wounded several others, officials said Friday.

In western Herat province, 10 policemen were killed and four were wounded in Shindand district where fighting with the insurgents lasted for hours. The district governor, Shukrullah Shaker, said a roadside mine and a rocket hit a car carrying police reinforcements sent to the scene, killing the police commander.

There were also fatalities among the Taliban attackers, Shaker said, but it was not clear how many. He blamed the Taliban for the attack although no militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the assault.

Also overnight, the Taliban attacked several police posts in eastern Paktia province, in the provincial capital of Gardez, leaving at least three policemen dead, said Gul Agha Roohani, the province’s police chief.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack in Paktia in a text message sent to the media.

On Thursday morning, the Taliban stormed a government compound in the central province of Ghazni, triggering an hours-long gunbattle that killed 15, including three top local officials.