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> 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) — Afghan official says a Taliban ambush of a police convoy in western Farah province killed at least 20 policemen. </s> New police chief among those who died when convoy was attacked in Farah province

This article is more than 9 months old

This article is more than 9 months old

Twenty policemen were killed in a Taliban ambush of a police convoy in western Afghanistan and 10 troops died in an insurgent attack on an army checkpoint in the north, Afghan officials said on Monday, as minority Shias took to the streets of Kabul for the second day to protest against the arrest of a local militia commander.

During the demonstration in the Afghan capital, protesters opened fire on the police, wounding four policemen. The deputy interior minister, Gen Akhtar Mohammad Ibrahimi, said 44 policemen were also injured when protesters threw stones and other hard objects at them.

The Taliban ambush, in western Farah province on Sunday afternoon, wounded four policemen, including the deputy provincial police chief, said Dadullah Qaneh, a member of the provincial council.

The convoy was on its way to the district of Lash Wa Juwayn to introduce the newly appointed district police chief when it came under attack, said another council member, Abdul Samad Salehi. The police chief was also killed, said Qaneh.

In the northern Faryab province, the Taliban attacked an army checkpoint in Qaisar district, killing 10 troops, said Mohammad Tahir Rahmani, head of the provincial council. Three soldiers were wounded, while the fate of five others is unknown.

The Taliban, who in recent years have taken control of nearly half of Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the Farah attack, which was the latest in a series of brutal, near-daily Taliban assaults on Afghan military and security forces. There was no statement on the Faryab assault.

The Taliban view the US-backed government in Kabul as a dysfunctional western puppet and have refused to negotiate with it.

The protesters in western Kabul were rallying to denounce the arrest of Abdul Ghani Alipoor, a Shia militia leader in western Ghor province. The Afghan intelligence service accuses Alipoor of leading an illegal armed group that is behind extortion and other mafia-like behaviour in the region.

“I can hear the sporadic sound of shooting from the area,” MP Nasrullah Sadeqizada, who lives nearby, told AP by phone on Monday.

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Mahobullah, a resident form the area, said hundreds of protesters were carrying posters of Alipoor, shouting “Alipoor is innocent” and demanding that he be released. During a previous attempt to arrest Alipoor, in June, security forces in Ghor clashed with his followers, leading to the deaths of seven civilians and four policemen.

On Sunday, hundreds clashed with police during a similar protest in Kabul. In that demonstration, three policemen were shot and wounded and 20 were injured by stones thrown by protesters, who also torched two police checkpoints.

There were also protests on Monday in the northern Balkh and central Bamyan provinces, but no reports of violence. </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> The Taliban killed 30 policemen in an overnight attack on an Afghan police outpost in western Farah province, officials said Thursday. The onslaught on the outpost in Farah’s district of Khaki Safed began late on Wednesday and continued for more than four hours, according to provincial council member Dadullah Qani. Lawmaker Samiullah Samim said in Kabul that the Taliban killed all 30 policemen – members of both the national and local police force – who were deployed at the outpost, including the district police commander, Abdul Jabhar, AP reports. Retaliatory airstrikes killed 17 Taliban fighters but the insurgents still managed to get away with a large amount of weapons and ammunition, he said. </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> FARAH: Up to 40 police personnel have been killed as Taliban militants stormed a police base in Afghanistan's western Farah province. An official, on the condition of anonymity, said the Taliban attacked a police base in Bala Blok district at 09:00 pm local time Wednesday, which lasted for several hours. The official also admitted that the militants attacked police checkpoints in Khak-e-Safid and Pushtrod districts on the same night, inflicting casualties to the police personnel.– Xinhua
Taliban insurgents ambush a police convoy in the western Farah Province, killing 20 officers, including the newly appointed provincial police chief.