Taliban kills 8 officers in eastern Afghanistan

KABUL

A district governor in Afghanistan says Taliban fighters launched a wave of attacks in eastern Ghazni province, killing at least eight police and wounding seven others.

Saeeb Khan Elham said on July 20 that insurgents launched a wave of attacks on compounds and police security posts in the Qarabagh district late the night before.

He said government forces meant to reinforce the district were attacked in a Taliban ambush that included roadside mines and were unable to help.

Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone interview with the Associated Press. He said 16 police were killed and a government compound in the district damaged. As many as 14 people, including women and children, were killed in an air strike carried out during an operation by Afghan security forces near the northern city of Kunduz on July 19, officials said.

Afghan officials said the incident was still being investigated and it was unclear whether the casualties had been caused by Afghan or U.S. aircraft, both of which flew missions in support of the operation. A statement from the U.S. military said there was no
indication that its aircraft were responsible.