By Xinhua,
KABUL : Taliban militants shot dead a police officer in Afghanistan’s eastern Laghman province, an official said Saturday.
“The enemies ambushed the vehicle of Abdul Aziz, the commander of police in Qarghai district, Friday night, killing him on the spot,” district chief of Qarghai Mohammad Arif told Xinhua.
He said one police was also killed in fire fight between the guards of Abdul Aziz and the insurgents.
Meantime, Zabihullah Mujahid, who claims to speak for the Taliban, claimed responsibility, saying one Taliban fighter was also killed in the gun battle lasted for a while.
Taliban also took responsibility for the killing of secretary of the Provincial Council of the neighboring Nangarhar province who was gunned down early this morning.
Conflicts and Taliban-linked insurgency had left over 5,000 people, with some 2,000 civilians dead, in 2008 while the violence is predicted to go up in 2009 in the post-Taliban central Asian state.