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Afghanistan: Eight police killed at Helmand checkpoint | |
(40 minutes later) | |
Eight Afghan policemen have been shot and killed in an attack on a checkpoint in the southern province of Helmand, officials say. | |
They say the attack was carried out by the Taliban near Lashkar Gah on Tuesday night. Three policemen were wounded and one is missing. | |
Some officials say that the attackers were helped by the missing policeman. | Some officials say that the attackers were helped by the missing policeman. |
Lashkar Gah is one of seven initial areas where security has been handed from Nato to Afghan forces. | Lashkar Gah is one of seven initial areas where security has been handed from Nato to Afghan forces. |
Foreign combat troops are due to withdraw from Afghanistan by 2014. | Foreign combat troops are due to withdraw from Afghanistan by 2014. |
The BBC's Bilal Sarwary says that insurgents are trying to undermine the authority and lower the morale of Afghan security forces as the transition gets under way. | The BBC's Bilal Sarwary says that insurgents are trying to undermine the authority and lower the morale of Afghan security forces as the transition gets under way. |
On Tuesday a suicide car bomber attacked a popular bakery in Lashkar Gah, killing at least five people. | |
High profile attacks | High profile attacks |
"The Taliban had help from a policeman inside the checkpoint," a senior policeman in the area told the BBC. | "The Taliban had help from a policeman inside the checkpoint," a senior policeman in the area told the BBC. |
"Our information shows that the attackers were helped by this officer. He may have even have removed the [firing] pin from a heavy machine gun. He has fled the checkpoint with his gun. | "Our information shows that the attackers were helped by this officer. He may have even have removed the [firing] pin from a heavy machine gun. He has fled the checkpoint with his gun. |
"We are going to be looking for him. We have questioned two people who know him well.'' | "We are going to be looking for him. We have questioned two people who know him well.'' |
An Afghan intelligence official in the area told the BBC that the Taliban had managed to recruit the police officer some time ago. | |
"He did this for money because his record shows he was not a very religious person,'' the official said. | "He did this for money because his record shows he was not a very religious person,'' the official said. |
Correspondents say that in recent months Taliban militants have carried out several attacks, some of them high profile, by infiltrating the Western-trained Afghan security forces. | Correspondents say that in recent months Taliban militants have carried out several attacks, some of them high profile, by infiltrating the Western-trained Afghan security forces. |
The bakery attack in Lashkar Gah took place close to police headquarters. | The bakery attack in Lashkar Gah took place close to police headquarters. |
According to witnesses, police were buying bread when the attack took place. Two civilians were among the dead. | According to witnesses, police were buying bread when the attack took place. Two civilians were among the dead. |
In a separate development, the New Zealand defence ministry has announced that a special forces soldier was killed in a gun battle with Taliban fighters during a special operation in the central province of Wardak. | |
He said that the soldier was part of a group of special forces troops supporting about 50 Afghan police trying to search for and arrest a rebel group suspected of planning an attack on Kabul. |
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