Policeman, 3 militants killed in N. Afghan checkpoint attack

A policeman and three militants were killed Tuesday morning as Taliban launched an attack on Afghan Local Police (ALP) checkpoints in northern province of Kunduz, an official said.

"Taliban militants numbered eight or 10 raided ALP checkposts in Pul-e-Ahmad Khan area of Dashti Archi district Tuesday morning. The gunbattle claimed the lives of one cop and three militants," district administrative chief Sheikh Saddrodin told Xinhua.

The remaining militants fled as the ALP forces repelled the attack in the province 250 km north of national capital Kabul, he noted.

In neighboring Imam Sahib district, four ALP members were injured when their mobile was hit by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) earlier on Tuesday morning.

The ALP, or community police, was established in August 2010 to protect villages and districts around the country where army and police have limited presence.

In a separate development, three civilians were killed as a vehicle touched off an IED in western Farah province, 695 km west of Kabul, Monday evening, a provincial police spokesman Fawad Haskari said Tuesday.

The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since the militant group launched annual rebel offensive in April against Afghan government forces and about 100,000 NATO-led troops stationed in the country.

As many as 299 Afghan police forces, 180 civilians and 753 militants had been killed within the last one month across the country, Interior Ministry officials said on Monday.