2nd LD Writethru: Policeman killed in W. Afghan attack

One policeman was killed while two others were wounded following an armed attack in Herat city, the provincial capital of western Afghanistan's province of Herat on Tuesday, sources said.

Two men riding a motorcycle and another three men sitting in a wagon armed with AK-47 guns approached a security checkpoint in Pul-e-Kar-wa-bar locality, opening fire before fleeing the scene, a security source told Xinhua anonymously. "One police was killed on the spot and two others wounded as a result of the attack which occurred at around 6:30 a.m. (local time) along a highway that leads to southern Kandahar province," the source said.

The unit was checking vehicles running towards the city when it came under attack, the source added.

An investigation was launched into the incident, and the security forces have launched a massive manhunt in the area to nab the culprits, provincial police spokesman Abdul Rauf Ahmadi told Xinhua.

Details will be revealed to the public later on the day after the ongoing operation, he said.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Taliban militant group has intensified attacks with a string of bombings and armed attacks over the past couple of months as the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) assumed the full security charges from NATO-led troops earlier this year. Endi