4 Afghan policemen killed in bomb attack

Kabul, May 12 (Xinhua-ANI): Four Afghan policemen were killed Saturday in a bomb attack in Badghis province 555 km northwest of capital Kabul, provincial police chief said.

"According to initial investigation, a roadside bomb was detonated by a remote control device along a road in Qadis district at about 11 a.m. local time Saturday when a police van was passing by the area, leaving four policemen dead," police chief Abdul Jabar told Xinhua.

He blamed Taliban insurgents for the attack.

In a separate incident, 11 Taliban militants, an Afghan soldier and a policeman were killed Friday during a clash following Taliban attack on police checkpoints in Musa Qala district of southern Helmand province, a spokesman for provincial government said.

"The fighting took place in Musulmani and Khowja Daad areas of the district and lasted for several hours," spokesman Daud Ahmadi told Xinhua on Saturday, adding "Security forces have also captured nine injured militants after the clashes,"

The Taliban insurgent group, who has been waging a decade-long insurgency, announced on May 2 that they would launched a spring rebel offensive from May 3 across the country, saying their targets are U.S., NATO and Afghan troops as well as legislators and government functionaries. (Xinhua-ANI)