(MENAFN- Arab News) KANDAHAR: At least 17 Afghan policemen were killed Saturday when dozens of Taleban militants stormed their outpost in the country's volatile south the latest attack of an increasingly deadly summer fighting season.
The pre-dawn raid occurred in Helmand province as the Taleban intensify their countrywide summer offensive despite repeated government attempts to reopen peace negotiations.
'Dozens of armed Taleban attacked a police checkpoint in Musa Qala district of Helmand' provincial police chief Nabi Jan Mullahkhil told AFP. 'In the attack 17 police forces were killed and three others were wounded.'
Omar Zwak the spokesman for the Helmand provincial governor confirmed the death toll from the raid that occurred just after midnight and lasted several hours.
The Taleban claimed responsibility for the attack saying they seized several weapons ammunition and other military hardware from the checkpost.
'Our mujahedeen armed with heavy and light weapons attacked police checkpoint in Musa Qala district' Taleban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP.
Saturday's attack marks another grim setback for Afghan forces facing their first fighting season without full NATO support.
NATO's combat mission formally ended in December but a small follow-up foreign force of about 12500 mainly US troops has stayed on to train and support local security personnel.
Afghan authorities have repeatedly tried to jumpstart talks with the Taleban in the hope of ending the 13-year conflict but the militants have set tough conditions including the withdrawal of all foreign troops in Afghanistan.
In early May Taleban militants killed at least 13 policemen after storming security outposts in the remote mountainous province of Badakhshan.
The attack came just weeks after a similar Taleban raid on army checkpoints in the northeast province in which 18 soldiers were killed including some who were beheaded.
Earlier this year a US watchdog said in a report that Afghan security forces were suffering heavy casualties on the battlefield and large numbers of troops were resigning or deserting their units.
Between October 2013 and September 2014 more than 1300 Afghan army soldiers were killed in action and 6200 were wounded the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in its report.
Between September 2013 and September 2014 more than 40000 personnel were dropped from Afghan National Army rolls it added.