Six Afghan police killed in Taliban attack

Afghanistan  – Taliban insurgents attacked a police post in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province Friday, killing six policemen and wounding another seven, the provincial government said.mi

The attack occurred in the Nawa district, just outside the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, provincial government spokesman Daud Ahmadi said.

“This morning (the) Taliban attacked a police post. In the clash, six police were killed and seven were wounded,” Ahmadi said.

The seven wounded policemen were in hospital, he said.

A Taliban spokesman, Yousuf Ahmadi, told reporters the attack was carried out by his group, which is waging an insurgency strong in Helmand and elsewhere in southern Afghanistan.

Ahmadi said Afghan and foreign troops operating in the same area overnight killed 36 Taliban militants. Officials seized only seven bodies, he said.

Another 18 insurgents were wounded but were able to escape, he said.

The US military released a statement saying its men working with Afghan forces killed 15 militants in the area late Thursday.

It could not be immediately confirmed if it was the same incident. The various forces operating in Afghanistan often give conflicting casualty tolls for the same battles.