Seven police officers have been killed in a northern Afghanistan province after their checkpoint came under attack by insurgents.
Police officials in Jawzjan province say five other police officers were wounded in the attack late Saturday.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
In a separate incident, seven civilians were killed when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in eastern Kunar province. The casualties include two children. Three others were wounded in the blast.
Also late Saturday, an Afghan journalist died from wounds sustained in a Taliban attack on a French-run school earlier this month.
Zubair Hatami, a cameraman with privately-run Mitra Television was seriously wounded when a teenage suicide bomber blew himself up during a performance at the Etsiqlal High School on December 11. A German aid worker was also killed in that attack.
The militants have been stepping up their attacks against Afghan security forces in a bid to undermine the Western-backed government as foreign combat troops prepare to withdraw from the country by the end of the month.
