TALUQAN, Afghanistan, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Four police officers, including a district police chief, were killed in a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan's northern Baghlan province on Friday, a local official said.
"Afzal Hakimi, police chief of Warsaj district of Takhar province, and three of his colleagues were martyred during clashes with Taliban in Jalga district of neighboring Baghlan province early Friday morning," Takhar provincial government spokesman, Jawad Hijiri, told Xinhua.
The deceased police chief was travelling together with three policemen from his hometown in Jalga to Warsaj district police station after vacation but the militants ambushed his vehicle in Kotal-e-Palfi locality of Jalga, the official noted.
The Afghan security forces' casualties have risen recently as they struggle against a surge in attacks by Taliban militant group and other anti-government fighters.
Baghlan province, as well as neighboring Takhar province, has been the scene of heavy clashes over the past couple of months as Taliban has been trying to challenge the government forces in the once relatively peaceful region.
