Nine police, 11 insurgents killed in Afghan violence

Sep 28, 2011, 12:52 GMT

Kabul - A senior police official and eight other Afghan policemen were killed Wednesday in a spate of violence in the south, officials said.

In addition, 11 insurgents were killed in clashes with security forces Tuesday night in eastern Afghanistan.

A roadside bomb killed the acting police chief of Chori district, in southern Uruzgan province, on Wednesday, a police official said.

'Mohammad Gul was on his way to the district headquarters when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb,' Gulab Khan, a police officer said. 'Three bodyguards have been injured in the blast.'

Meanwhile, eight policemen were killed and three injured when militants attacked a police check post in the southern province of Helmand early Wednesday, the governor's office said.

The attack occurred in Nahr-e-Saraj district, it said.

'A policemen who may have been involved with the terrorists and made the plan of the attack has escaped with the insurgents.'

Taliban militants have infiltrated Afghan security forces in recent months and have killed dozens, including foreign soldiers.

In July, a policeman poisoned and then killed seven police officers in Lashkargah, the provincial capital of Helmand.

Separately, 11 insurgents were killed and seven others were detained in a combined forces operation in eastern province of Nangahar, the governor's office said Wednesday.

The operation was conducted in Spin Ghar district Tuesday night where Taliban commander Zar Mohammad and 10 of his fighters were killed, it said.