KABUL — Taliban militants stormed a police checkpoint in southern Afghanistan’s troubled Helmand province overnight and killed eight policemen, the provincial government said Saturday.

U.S. and British soldiers take a tactical pause during a combat patrol in the Sangin District area of Helmand Province in Afghanistan. (Daniel Love/U.S. Army)

Other policemen were able to escape the attack, perhaps because they had ties with the insurgents, Helmand government spokesman Daud Ahmadi told AFP. The ambush took place about 10 kilometres (six miles) north of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah. “Eight police were killed,” Ahmadi said.

Helmand province, Afghanistan

Helmand is perhaps Afghanistan’s most intense battlefield in an insurgency that has brought roughly 90,000 international troops to the country, with more on the way.

Police are on the frontline of the battle, frequently bearing the brunt of the attacks because not as well equipped or as well trained as the Afghan army and the international security forces.

The Taliban control a handful of districts in Helmand, where British and US troops have recently stepped up operations against the insurgents. (AFP)

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