Ten Afghan police officers killed, weapons smugglers nabbed (Roundup)

Jul 4, 2008, 13:37 GMT

Kabul - At least 10 Afghan police officers were killed and five injured in a Taliban insurgent attack on a checkpoint in Kandahar and a roadside bomb explosion in Ghazni province, while a coalition service member died and three rebels were arrested for weapons smuggling in Helmand province, officials said Friday.

Mateuallah Khan, police chief of Kandahar province, said the militants attacked police at the checkpoint in Kandahra's Panjwayi district late at night, killing at least eight officers and injuring another.

Two more Afghan policemen were killed and five others injured by a roadside bomb in Maidan-Wardak province on Friday.

Taliban militants increased their attacks on Afghan and international troops in recent weeks especially in southern and south-eastern provinces.

A statement released by the US military in Bagram said: 'A coalition service member died here today from a non-combat injury.'

The military said in another statement that three rebels were detained Thursday during a coalition operation in Baghram Chah district of Helmand province.

'The network is also involved in the smuggling of weapons, including machine guns and rockets,' it said.

Several weapons caches were discovered and destroyed to prevent future militant use, it added.

In another development, seven drug smugglers were also arrested in Herat province on Friday.

The smugglers were arrested in Gulran district of this province, said Noor Khan Naikzad, media officer in Herat police department, adding, 'during the engagement one police soldier slightly injured.'