Eight police officers, all members of the same family, were killed in northern Afghanistan on Friday after a colleague working with the Taliban drugged and shot them at a checkpoint, police and government officials said.

No group claimed responsibility for the deadly attack but a spokesman for Faryab provincial police told AFP the suspected assailant had "fled back to the Taliban".

The victims, four regular police and four auxiliary officers, "were drugged by their colleague who then opened fire on them at a police checkpoint in the Almar district" of Faryab province, provincial police spokesman Abul Karim Yoresh told AFP.

District governor Saleh Saleh confirmed that all eight of the police officers were members of the same family.

Local media reported that the suspected assailant police officer had joined the Taliban a year ago.

A similar incident happened in September when two Afghan soldiers opened fire on their sleeping colleagues in their barracks in the northern province of Kunduz.

On Wednesday the US government's Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in a report that the death rate among Afghan troops and police soared last year as the Kabul government's overall control of the country declined significantly. </s> At least eight Afghan security force members have been killed by the Taliban in the northwestern province of Faryab, a police spokesman said on February 3.

Spokesman Abdul Karim Youresh said the attackers killed four police officers and four members of a local defense force aiding police at a checkpoint in the Almar district during the night.

All of the victims belonged to one family.

Youresh said the Taliban carried out the attack with the help of one of the men posted at the security station. He said that the man was associated with the Taliban but had recently pretended to have left the militant group.

He said the man, a relative of the commander in charge of the station, had been allowed to join the security force after tribal elders gave guarantees on his behalf.

Meanwhile, Gul Agha Roohani, chief of police in eastern Nangarhar Province, said that 12 suspected Islamic State militants were killed when they attacked security posts in the district of Kot early on February 3. Roohani said one police officer was also killed.

Separately, provincial Governor Mohammad Alias Wahdat said an unknown gunman fatally shot a cleric and his wife in eastern Paktyka Province on February 2 in the Yusof Khail district.



Police said there were no immediate claims of responsibility.

Based on reporting by dpa and AP </s> An Afghan official says at least 20 police officers have been killed when the Taliban ambushed a convoy in western Farah province.

Dadullah Qaneh, a member of the provincial council in Farah, says four policemen, including the deputy provincial police chief, were wounded in the attack on Sunday afternoon near Lash wa Juwayn district.

Another council member, Abdul Samad Salehi, says the convoy was on its way to the district to introduce newly appointed district police chief when it came under attack.

Qaneh says the newly appointed chief was also killed.

The Taliban, who in recent years have taken over nearly half of Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the attack.

It was the latest in a series of brutal, near-daily Taliban assaults on Afghan military and security forces throughout the country. </s> Afghan official says a Taliban ambush of a police convoy in western Farah province killed at least 20 policemen

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan official says a Taliban ambush of a police convoy in western Farah province killed at least 20 policemen. </s> KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — At least 10 police officers and the wife of a police commander were killed in an ambush by Islamic States group militants in northern Zawzjan province, a provincial official said.



Mohammad Reza Ghafori, spokesman for the Zawzjan provincial governor, said Saturday that the police officers were ambushed Friday as they were coming out of a mosque. The wife of the police commander heard about her husband being shot and rushed to the scene, where she was also killed.



IS-linked militants have been active in Afghanistan's eastern regions, but have recently begun operating in the north of the country as well.



Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry said in a statement that around 38 militants, including 23 IS fighters, were killed in separate operations conducted by Afghan security forces in the eastern and southern regions of the country over the past two days.



Eight other militants were wounded and six arrested in the operations, which were conducted in districts across the Nangarhar and Helmand provinces, the statement added.



In another report form eastern Laghman province, two students were killed when a mortar struck a school's classroom, a news release from the Education ministry said. The statement added that five other students were wounded inside the classroom in Mihterlam, the province's capital.



There were unconfirmed reports the mortar was fired by Afghan security forces and missed its target and hit the school. The report could not immediately be verified by provincial or government officials.



In a separate report form northern Faryab province at least one police officer was killed when a remotely controlled bomb went off inside a bazaar, said Karim Yuresh, the spokesman for the provincial police chief.



He said that 16 others including 15 innocent civilians and a policeman were wounded in the blast. "The blast took place inside a market where innocent civilians were busy with their daily businesses," said Yuresh. He added that the intended target were the two policemen in the market.



No group has claimed responsibility for the Faryab attackn, but Taliban insurgents usually use roadside bombs and suicide attacks to target Afghan security forces as well as government officials across the country. </s> At least 18 policemen were killed after Taliban insurgents ambushed a convoy of Afghan forces in Farah province last night, a local official said on Monday.

Dadullah Qani, a member of Farah provincial council told Ariana News that a convoy of Afghan security forces was ambushed by Taliban fighters when the convoy was on its way from Farah city to Lash Jawin district.

He added that at least 18 policemen including Lash Jawin newly appointed police chief were killed in the attack.

According to Mr. Qani, the convoy was dispatching the newly appointed district police chief along with some weapons and ammunition when it came under attack.

Security officials have not made a comment about the report yet.

The attack comes a day after U.S. top commander in Afghanistan visited Farah city and vowed to support Afghan forces in the province.

Farah is among the volatile provinces in the west of Afghanistan where the Taliban insurgents are actively operating in a number of its districts and usually carrying deadly attacks against government forces. </s> At least 22 police were killed in a Taliban ambush in western Afghanistan, a health official said Monday, in another blow to Afghan forces already suffering record casualties.

The attack on the police convoy in Farah province on Sunday also wounded at least two officers, said Shir Ahmad Weda, director of the public hospital in the provincial capital.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a WhatsApp message, saying 25 police were killed and four wounded.

“Four vehicles were destroyed and a large quantity of weapons were seized,” Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a spokesman for the militants, added.

The Taliban have stepped up attacks on Afghan security forces in recent months, inflicting record casualties even as efforts to engage the militants in peace talks intensify. </s> AT Monitoring Desk-KABUL: At least eight policemen who were members of one family were cowardly killed by the Taliban insurgents in Faryab province, local official said on Friday

Almar district governor, Mohammad Saleh Saleh told TOLOnews that the deceased police forces members include a father, his two sons, his two son-in-laws and his three nephew.

“The policemen were poisoned first and then were shot dead by the Taliban insurgents,” he said.The incident took place in Gard Marshkar village in the district.

According to media report, the attacker, who is a resident of Almar district, was surrendered to the police force 15 days ago.

This is not the first incident of its nature, as the Taliban insurgents carried such “cowardly attacks” several time in the past. It indicates that the Taliban insurgent has lost influence to battle face-to-fact with security forces. The Afghan security forces repelled the spring offensive of the Taliban insurgents very effectively, which is a big blow to the group. Taliban and other militant outfits would never win war as they are at the wrong path. Afghan security forces have been fighting all form of insurgency with high moral. </s> KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan official says a Taliban ambush of a police convoy in western Farah province killed at least 20 policemen.
According to Afghan Police, eight of their forces have been killed by the Taliban at a checkpoint in Faryab Province.