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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban insurgents attacked checkpoints in the southern Helmand province early Sunday, killing 11 police, an official said.
Omar Zwak, the spokesman for the provincial governor, said Afghan forces eventually repelled the attack in the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah. He said the insurgents also suffered casualties, without providing figures.
The Taliban, who have a strong and growing presence in Helmand, claimed the attack. The insurgents launch near-daily attacks across the country, mainly targeting security forces.
In the southern Kandahar province, a suicide car bomber attacked a convoy of foreign forces, killing an Afghan woman and wounding five other civilian bystanders, said Gen. Abdul Raziq, the Kandahar police chief. He said he did not know if any foreign forces were killed or wounded.
U.S. Navy Capt. Tom Gresback, a spokesman for the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, Resolute Support, confirmed the attack in a statement, saying there were no casualties among the international forces. "We can confirm a suicide bomber attempted an attack on a patrol in Kandahar, Afghanistan earlier today. However, there were no fatalities or injuries sustained by coalition forces. The attacker has died as a result of the detonation," Gresback's statement said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Kandahar, but Taliban insurgents have stepped up their attacks against both the Afghan and coalition forces across the country.
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