At Least Nine Police Killed In Afghanistan

(RFE/RL) March 12, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- A district police chief and at least 8 police officers were killed in western Afghanistan today when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb, RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan reports.

The Security Chief of Farah's province, Seyed Agha Saqib, said the blast happened in the Bakwa district of the province. One other officer was reported critically injured.


"In Bakwa today, one of our cars hit a mine. Nine [police officers] including the Bakwa district police chief were martyred and one person was injured. One of our vehicles was destroyed," Saqib said.


He accused foreign enemies of Afghanistan of being behind the blast.


The area was briefly overrun by Taliban insurgents in February. Local authorities have launched an investigation.


(with material from AP, AFP, Reuters)

The Afghan Insurgency

The Afghan Insurgency

A U.S. military vehicle damaged by insurgents near Kandahar (epa)

HOMEGROWN OR IMPORTED? As attacks against Afghan and international forces continue relentlessly, RFE/RL hosted a briefing to discuss the nature of the Afghan insurgency. The discussion featured Marvin Weinbaum, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and RFE/RL Afghanistan analyst Amin Tarzi.


LISTEN

Listen to the entire briefing (about 83 minutes):
Real Audio Windows Media


ARCHIVE

RFE/RL's coverage of Afghanistan.



SUBSCRIBE

For weekly news and analysis on Afghanistan by e-mail, subscribe to "RFE/RL Afghanistan Report."