Four Afghanistan police killed in checkpoint attack 26/01/2010 - 09:18:24
Gunmen killed four Afghan policemen in a pre-dawn attack in southern Afghanistan today, an official said.
The attack happened at about 2am local time at a checkpoint near the Information and Cultural Affairs Ministry's directorate in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province.
The area is expected to be a major focus of fighting with the influx of 37,000 additional US and Nato forces.
Daoud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said it was not clear who killed the officers. He said the policemen apparently had visitors and an investigation was under way into whether the attack was political or personal.
Taliban militants frequently target Afghan security forces and officials to undermine the US-backed government.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said yesterday that he would press for the removal of some Taliban figures from a UN sanctions list and seek support for a reconciliation plan.
Mr Karzai, speaking in Turkey ahead of Thursday's international conference on Afghanistan to be held in London, said the US and Europe back his plan to reconcile militants who are not aligned with al Qaida or other terrorist groups.
British officials said international funding for Mr Karzai's programme is expected to be agreed at the London meeting, but did not offer specifics on the amount likely to be pledged.
