Taliban kill Afghan district police chief: official

Writer: AFP

Published: 12/08/2009 at 03:00 PM

Taliban militants attacked a government compound in northern Afghanistan, killing the district police chief and a guard, an official said Wednesday, in more pre-election bloodshed.

Afghan policemen keep watch after a suicide attack against NATO forces in Kunduz province on August 10. Taliban militants attacked a government compound in northern Afghanistan, killing the district police chief and a guard, an official said Wednesday, in more pre-election bloodshed.

The attack happened in the province of Kunduz, where insecurity has spiralled this year with several attacks despite the presence of NATO troops.

After the militants attacked the compound in Archi district, the police chief emerged from his own headquarters to help, said the Archi governor, Shaikh Dabi.

"The Taliban ambushed him and killed him," he said.

"The Archi district police chief and one of his bodyguards were killed and three other police were wounded," he said.

Locals said the insurgents set fire to the district government building.

The worsening security in Kunduz has been blamed on the return of militants who fled after the 2001 US-led invasion removed the Taliban regime.

The area is also on a new transit route coming through Tajikistan for supplies for Western forces in Afghanistan to fight the insurgency.

Military operations are under way across Afghanistan, mostly in the south, to secure areas ahead of landmark August 20 presidential and provincial council elections.

There are concerns that the threat of violence will keep voters away from the polls, undermining the credibility of the elections.

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