Ten Afghan Policemen Killed in 'Insider Attack'

Officials in Afghanistan say an Afghan policeman believed to have links to the Taliban killed 10 police officers in the central province of Uruzgan on Tuesday.

The attack took place early in the morning at a security area in the Chinarto district. A spokesman for the provincial governor said the killer drugged the officers before shooting them.

The spokesman also said the suspected killer is missing from the security area along with a vehicle and weapons and other equipment that belonged to the officers.

But a Taliban spokesman said the officers were killed by militants who attacked and captured the security area and killed all of the policemen there.

VOA was not able to confirm if the report from the Taliban spokesman is true.

The reported attack on Afghan police by a police officer was the second so-called “insider attack” in the past two weeks in Uruzgan. Provincial officials say four police officers believed to be working with the Taliban killed nine other officers on January 17th. The officials say the four officers then joined the Taliban, bringing their weapons and ammunition with them.

Insider attacks were a major problem for US-led NATO forces between 2007 and 2013.  These attacks took place when Afghan soldiers joined allied forces on combat missions.

The Taliban has increased its attacks in Afghanistan over the past year. The attacks began soon after NATO combat troops left the country at the end of 2014. The Taliban attacks have killed or injured many Afghan security force members. 

I’m Mario Ritter.

Correspondent Ayaz Gul reported this story from Islamabad. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the story for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.

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