PUL-E-KHUMRI, Afghanistan, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Nine policemen have been killed and three others wounded as Taliban militants attacked a local police camp in Afghanistan's northern province of Baghlan overnight, a provincial source said Saturday.
"The clash erupted as a dozen of armed militants stormed an Afghan Local Police (ALP) base in Bagh-e-Shamal, an area on the outskirts of provincial capital Pul-e-Khumri city Friday night," Bismillah Atash, a provincial council member, told Xinhua.
He said nine ALP personnel were killed and three others wounded as the clash continued until Saturday morning.
Several militants were killed and wounded during the gun battle, but the number could not be exactly specified, said the source.
Local police is a local security entity composed of villagers to defend their community where the presence of the national army or national police is slim to ensure law and order.
The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since early April when the militant group launched its annual rebel offensive in different locations, which had claimed hundreds of lives including militants, security personnel and civilians.
