Militant attack kills 4 police officers in Afghanistan

At least four police officers, including a district police chief, have been killed in a militant attack in northern Afghanistan.

Abdul Manan Raoufi, the spokesman for the provincial police chief of Jawzjan Province, said the attack was carried out in the Darzab district in the early hours of Wednesday when the militants targeted a security checkpoint.

Raoufi said that a local police chief, identified as Mohammad Nahim, was among the victims.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Raoufi blamed the Taliban militants for the attack and said an investigation into the incident was underway.

The Taliban militants have stepped up their attacks against the Afghan government, foreign forces and civilians.

The group has vowed to escalate the attacks on Afghan forces and US-led troops, their bases, diplomatic missions and vehicle convoys before the foreign forces exit the country at the end of 2014.

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity remains across the country despite the presence of thousands of US-led troops.

The US-led war in Afghanistan, which has caused record-high civilian and military casualties, has become the longest military conflict in the US history.