BFF-22 Taliban kill at least six Afghan police in Humvee suicide attack

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AFGHANISTAN-UNREST

Taliban kill at least six Afghan police in Humvee suicide attack

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Dec 22, 2017 (BSS/AFP) – A suicide bomber drove an
explosives-packed Humvee into a police headquarters in Afghanistan on Friday
killing at least six officers and wounding four others, officials said.

The Taliban claimed the pre-dawn attack in Maiwand district in the
southern province of Kandahar in the latest deadly assault by the insurgents,
who have been increasingly targeting security installations.

Kandahar police spokesman Ghorzang Afridi said the assault killed six
people and wounded four others.

“All the victims were local policemen,” Afridi told AFP.

“The explosion was very loud and you could hear the sound of the blast
miles away from the headquarters,” a local police officer told AFP on the
condition of anonymity.

He put the death toll at eight with nine others wounded.

“The eight policemen who were killed have been removed or pulled out from
under the rubble, and there were other policemen who went missing following
the attack,” the officer said.

The Taliban have stepped up attacks on security installations as they seek
to demoralise police and troops, and steal equipment to fuel the 16-year
insurgency.

The militants have acquired “dozens” of armoured Humvees and pickup trucks
in recent years, officials have said.

Some of those vehicles have been used in suicide attacks on police and
military bases with devastating effect.

Afghan forces, already beset by desertions and corruption, have seen
casualties soar to what a US watchdog has described as “shockingly high”
levels since NATO forces officially ended their combat mission in 2014 and
began a training and support role.

Morale has been further eroded by long-running fears that the militants
have insider help — everything from infiltrators in the ranks to corrupt
Afghan forces selling equipment to the Taliban.

BSS/AFP/MR/1230 hrs