Insurgents attack checkpoint in Afghanistan, killing 11

KABUL: At least 11 Afghan paramilitary forces were killed when the Taliban attacked their checkpoint, an official said today.

Zabi Amani, a spokesman for the governor of the northern Sari Pul province, said two other forces were wounded in the attack late Saturday.

He said three insurgents were killed, including a local commander, and four others were wounded.

Those targeted were members of the Local Uprising Forces, militias supported by the government.

No one immediately claimed the attack, but Amani blamed the Taliban, who are active in the area.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, insurgents attacked two security checkpoints in the eastern Ghazni province, killing four police and wounding five others, according to Arif Noori, spokesman for the provincial governor.

He said the Taliban opened fire on the checkpoints and then targeted reinforcements with a roadside bomb.

The Taliban, who control large parts of the province, claimed the attack and said they captured weapons and ammunition.

The Taliban stormed a government compound in another part of Ghazni late Thursday, triggering an hours-long gunbattle and killing 15 people, including three senior local officials.