Official: 8 police killed in Taliban attacks in Afghanistan

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – An Afghan official says eight police have been killed in attacks on three checkpoints in southern Kandahar province.

Zia Durani, spokesman for the provincial police chief, said Thursday the Taliban attacked police checkpoints overnight in the districts of Khakrezm Arghistan and Nasheen.

Durani says 22 Taliban fighters were also killed in the attacks. The fighting was particularly fierce in Nasheen district, he says.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousof Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Elsewhere, in western Hirat province on Thursday, a Taliban gunman attacked an army bus, killing one officer and wounding two others, according to Jilani Farhad, spokesman for the provincial governor.