Separate attacks on a police post and on a police convoy in southern Afghanistan have left nine policemen dead, with officials blaming the Taliban for both incidents.
Afghanistan's Interior Ministry says the nine police officers died when Taliban fighters stormed a police post in the Nahri Sarraj district of Helmand province Thursday.
Meanwhile, an official says Taliban militants were behind an attack on a police convoy just outside the city of Ghazni.
The official says the convoy was taking a Taliban prisoner to the provincial capital when a gun battle broke out.
He says four Taliban fighters were killed. Seven policemen and two civilians were also injured.
Militant violence in Afghanistan has increased to its highest levels since a U.S.-led coalition ousted the Taliban government in 2001.
The United Nations on Thursday released a major report on arbitrary detention in Afghanistan. The U.N. says it found that Afghans are often detained without lawful reason and many detainees do not enjoy basic rights under the Afghan constitution.
The U.N. called on the government to revise its laws, policies and procedures so that all detentions are lawful.
In other news, Afghan President Hamid Karzai says allegations of corruption made by the international community are politically motivated.
During a news conference Thursday, Mr. Karzai gave details of his own financial situation. He said he earns roughly $500 a month and has no private car, land or house. He says he has about $10,000 in a German bank account, and that his wife has jewelry worth the same amount.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP.
News
