Published: Thursday, October 4, 2007
Militants kill police, wound 5 Dutch troops
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban militants killed two policemen and destroyed a remote government office in central Afghanistan, while five Dutch troops were wounded in a clash in the country's south, officials said Wednesday.
Dozens of militants armed with heavy weapons attacked the Ajristan district center in Ghazni province late Tuesday, burning the building and killing two policemen, Ghazni police chief Ali Shah Ahmadzai said. The remaining officers fled into a nearby village, he said.
Police reinforcements, backed by the U.S.-led coalition, were sent to the remote area Wednesday, Ahmadzai said.
Taliban routinely attack remote police and government offices, but are rarely able to control these buildings for long after police or army reinforcements arrive.
In southern Afghanistan, five Dutch soldiers serving with NATO's International Security Assistance Force were wounded Tuesday night in Uruzgan province after militants opened fire on them, the Dutch Defense Ministry said.
The five wounded troops were transferred to a Dutch hospital in the force's main base near Tirin Kot, Camp Holland. Their injuries ranged from grazes and back injuries to broken bones, the ministry statement said.
The United Nations reported a nearly 30 percent increase in violence this year in Afghanistan, with suicide bombings causing a high number of civilian casualties.
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