Kandahar: At least 17 Afghan policemen were killed Saturday when dozens of Taliban militants stormed their outpost in the country´s volatile south, the latest attack of an increasingly deadly summer fighting season.
The pre-dawn raid occurred in Helmand province as the Taliban intensify their countrywide summer offensive despite repeated government attempts to reopen peace negotiations.
"Dozens of armed Taliban attacked a police checkpoint in Musa Qala district of Helmand," provincial police chief Nabi Jan Mullahkhil told AFP.
"In the attack, 17 police forces were killed, and three others were wounded."
Omar Zwak, the spokesman for the Helmand provincial governor, confirmed the death toll from the raid that occurred just after midnight.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they seized several weapons, ammunition and other military hardware from the checkpost.
"Our mujahedeen, armed with heavy and light weapons, attacked police checkpoint in Musa Qala district," Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP.
"In the attack, 25 police forces were killed and 13 others were wounded."
The Taliban, who were toppled from power in a 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan, are known to make exaggerated battlefield claims.
The insurgents launched a countrywide offensive in late April, stepping up attacks on government and foreign targets in what is expected to be the bloodiest fighting season in a decade. (AFP)
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