At least 11 policemen have been killed in an insider attack in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan, officials confirmed on Tuesday.

Apparently the incident has taken place by a member of the Taliban militant group who had infiltrated the ranks of the police.

The attack took place late on Monday night in a checkpoint in 2nd police district in Lashkar Gah City, the provincial capital of Helmand.

Reportedly after committing the crime, the attacker has taken the weapons and escaped the scene.

Provincial governor spokesman, Omar Zwak confirmed the incident, saying the incident happened and the case being investigated.

Meanwhile, a Taliban spokesman claimed of responsibility and insisted that 11 policemen had been killed in attack on police checkpoint in “Soargodar” area of Lashkar Gah City.

Helmand province is a stronghold of the Taliban. Over the past month, Afghan security forces have been busy foiling Taliban attacks on some key district of the province, including Lashkar Gah. </s> At least eleven Afghan policemen lost their lives in an attack in Lashkargah city, the provincial capital of southern Helmand province.

The incident took place late on Monday night in the vicinity of 2nd police district of the city.

A local security source confirmed that the attack was carried out by a Taliban insurgent who had infiltrated among the police forces.

Helmand is among the volatile provinces in southern Afghanistan where the Taliban insurgents are actively operating in its various districts and frequently conduct insurgency activities.

The province is also a central hub for drugs cultivation, production and smuggling which pours millions of dollars into the pockets of the Taliban insurgents, fueling their insurgency against the government.

The group launched numerous attacks on some key districts of Helmand province including the capital Lashkargah city in the past one month but the local officials are saying that the attacks were repulsed by the Afghan security forces.

Earlier, the officials were saying that the Taliban group is attempting to seize control of the province in a bid to shift their key leadership councils and leaders.

Follow Khaama Press (KP) | Afghan News Agency on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook. Stay updated via RSS </s> At least 11 Afghan policemen have been killed by a member of the Taliban militant group who had infiltrated the ranks of the police force in southern Afghanistan.

The assault reportedly took place late on Monday night in the vicinity of the 2nd police district in Lashkargah City, the provincial capital of Helmand.

Local media said a man in police uniform opened fire at officers at a checkpoint in Lashkargah. The attacker reportedly escaped the scene.

Helmand Province is a stronghold of the Taliban. Over the past month, Afghan security forces have been busy foiling Taliban attacks on some key districts of the province, including Lashkargah.

Afghanistan is gripped by insecurity more than 14 years after the United States and its allies attacked the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues across the country.

The US-led combat mission in Afghanistan ended on December 31, 2014. However, thousands of foreign forces, mainly from the US, have remained in the country in what Washington calls a support mission. </s> KABUL—At least 10 police officers and the wife of a police commander were killed in an ambush by Daesh 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.

Daesh-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 Daesh 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. </s> Afghan officials say 10 police officers and the wife of a police commander have been killed in an attack in the northern province of Zawzjan.

Mohammad Reza Ghafori, spokesman for the provincial governor, said the officers were ambushed on February 24 as they were coming out of a mosque in the Darzab district.

A local police commander was among the dead and his wife was also killed when she rushed to the scene, Ghafori added.

Brigadier General Rahmatullah Turkistani, the provincial police chief, said four militants were killed and six others wounded in retaliatory firing.

Ghafori blamed the attack on Islamic State (IS) militants, but the Taliban claimed responsibility.

IS-linked militants have been active in eastern Afghanistan, but have recently begun operating in the north of the country as well. The Taliban frequently target officials and security forces across Afghanistan.

Based on reporting by AP, dpa, and Pajhwok </s> KABUL: As many as fifteen Afghan policemen were killed in two different attacks carried out by Taliban in northern Sar-e-Pul province of Afghanistan.

An Afghan official told International news outlet, that Taliban launched two attacks, killing 15 members of Afghan police force.

In one attack, on the outskirts of the provincial capital, heavy artillery fire by Afghan forces trying to repel the insurgents sent local residents fleeing for safety.

Provincial council chief Mohammad Noor Rahmani said that along with 15 policemen killed, 21 were wounded in the two attacks, which took place late on Monday.

He said fierce gunbattles raged for several hours in Sayyad district and outside Sar-e-Pul, the provincial capital.

The Taliban have been carrying out near-daily attacks targeting Afghan forces despite stepped-up efforts by the United States to find a negotiated end to the country’s 17-year war. </s> 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> 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> 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 in a statement sent to media said that around 38 militants, including 23 IS terrorists, were killed in separate operations conducted by Afghan security forces in east and southern regions of the country over the last two days.

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

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

It was not clear from which side of the fight the mortar was fired, but 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.
Twelve Afghan National Police officers are killed in a Taliban "infiltration attack" in the southern Helmand Province.