Afghan bomb kills five police: officials

A roadside bomb killed five Afghan policemen, including a district police chief, when it ripped through their vehicle in a volatile part of southern Afghanistan, provincial authorities said today.

A roadside bomb killed five Afghan policemen, including a district police chief, when it ripped through their vehicle in a volatile part of southern Afghanistan, provincial authorities said on Friday.

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"Four police bodyguards along with district police chief, Ahmadullah, were killed in Sarab district in Uruzgan province late last evening," Abdullah Himmat, the provincial governor's spokesman, told AFP.

"Initially, the Taliban insurgents attacked a security checkpost. When the district chief along with his men went to respond, his vehicle struck a roadside bomb," provincial police investigative director, Gulab Khan said.

All five in the vehicle were killed, Khan said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but bombs are regularly planted by Taliban insurgents fighting a decade-long war against Nato-led foreign troops and Afghan government forces.

Afghan security forces are particular targets of the Taliban as they prepare to take over full responsibility for security from 130,000 foreign troops by the end of 2014, but civilians also regularly fall victim to the roadside bombs.