Afghan Senator Killed in Police Shooting

Afghan police have shot and killed a lawmaker who drove into an ambush targeting militants.

Police in northeastern Baghlan province say Senator Mohammad Yunos was driving home early Wednesday when his car entered an area of the provincial capital that had experienced heavy fighting the day before.

Afghanistan's Interior Ministry says police and Yunos' bodyguards engaged in a gunfight after the driver of the car ignored orders to stop. Officials say the driver also was killed and a third person was wounded.

Also in Baghlan province, at least two militants and a police officer were killed in a clash between the Taliban and police in Markazi District.

And Britain's military says a British soldier was killed by a suspected roadside bomb while on foot patrol near the Sangin district in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.

Also n Helmand, officials say a bomb killed three civilians and wounded at least four others.

Separately, NATO officials said a joint operation with Afghan security forces led to the capture of several individuals linked to a series of kidnappings in Kabul. NATO also said a Taliban commander responsible for several roadside bombings was killed during a joint operation in Paktia province.

Meanwhile, Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited a police training academy in Kabul Wednesday, accompanied by the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal. Mr. Karzai visited classrooms at the academy and shook hands with some of the recruits.




Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.