Afghan police die in Taliban ambush

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the deaths of seven policemen in an ambush on a security patrol in southern Afghanistan. The attack occurred in Zabul province on Thursday, where US-led troops and Afghan security forces had killed Taliban fighters a day earlier, according to police and the US-led coalition.

"One of our highway police patrols was attacked by the Taliban today. We lost seven policemen," Abdul Mohammad, Zabul's traffic police chief, said. Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, said that dozens of its fighters were responsible for the attack in the Shahjoy district of the province.

Increased attacks

The Taliban were forced from power after a US-led invasion in 2001, but their fighters have become resurgent in recent months.