Roundup: Insider attack kills 4 Afghan police, Taliban claims responsibility

A police personnel obviously loyal to Taliban outfit opened fire and killed four colleagues in Taliban former stronghold the southern Kandahar province on Tuesday and fled the scene, a local security official said.

"A police personnel, apparently affiliated with Taliban militants opened fire on his colleague in a checkpoint in Tarogh area on Kandahar-Uruzgan highway early Tuesday and after killing four police on the spot made his good escape," the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Ten more police personnel of the checkpoint went missing along with their weapons, the official added.

However, the official didn't identify the exact location of the bloody incident.

Meanwhile, Kandahar police spokesman, Zia Durani in talks with Xinhua confirmed the incident but said the attacked checkpoint belongs to Uruzgan police.

However, Uruzgan provincial police chief, Ghulam Sakhi Rogh Liwanai rebuffed the claim, saying the affected police checkpoint belonged to Kandahar police.

Meanwhile, Qari Yusuf Ahmadi who claims to speak for the Taliban outfit told media that a Taliban loyalist who had worked as police opened fire on police personnel in a police checkpoint in Shah Walikot district of Kandahar province early Tuesday killing four police personnel on the spot and joined the Taliban rank.

Backing the claim, Taliban outfit in an online statement said Tuesday that a Taliban man disguised himself as police after killing four police personnel at a police checkpoint in Shah Walikot of Kandahar had enabled Taliban fighters to capture the checkpoint and seize several weapons including six AK-47 rifles and a rocket propelled grenade. Enditem