Asia-Pacific

Roadside bomb kills five Afghan police - official

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-12-16 16:19

HERAT, Afghanistan: A roadside bomb hit a convoy of Afghan police, killing five officers including a district police chief in Afghanistan's western Herat province, a provincial official said on Wednesday.

Violence has reached its worst level this year in Afghanistan, the bloodiest period since US-led forces overthrew the Taliban government from power in 2001. Poorly-equipped and ill-trained Afghan police have borne the brunt of violence, suffering far more casualties than Western or Afghan army troops.

To reverse the Taliban's advances, US President Barack Obama this month pledged to send an extra force of some 30,000 American troops to Afghanistan, before starting to pull them in July 2011.

The blast against the police occured overnight in Robat Sangin, a remote district of Herat near the border with Turkmenistan, the district's chief, Ghulam Farouq, said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but roadside bomb attacks on police are a routine tactic of Taliban militants.

On Monday, 15 policemen were killed in two different parts of Afghanistan in separate attacks. In one of those cases, three policemen turned against their colleagues, killing seven while they slept.

Washington and its NATO allies who together have nearly 110,000 troops in Afghanistan, say their focus in coming years will be strengthening the capacity of the Afghan forces.