Checkpoint skirmish kills 12 in N. Afghanistan

Up to seven police and five militants were killed after insurgents attacked security checkpoints in northern Afghanistan's province of Jawzjan overnight, police said on Sunday morning.

The provincial police chief told Xinhua that an unknown number of militants armed with guns and rockets launchers stormed Afghan Local Police (ALP) checkpoints located in Qush Tipa District in southwestern of provincial capital of Shibirghan.

"The clash began at around mid-night and continued until early Sunday morning. The attack left seven ALP cops killed and four others injured," police chief Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani said.

The government established the ALP, or community police, in 2010 to protect villages and districts around the country where army and police have limited presence.

In retaliatory firing by ALP forces, five militants were killed, five wounded while others fled the scene, Jawzjani added.

The injured policemen have been shifted to a district hospital for medical treatment, he said.

The Taliban insurgents have intensified attacks with a string of bombings and attacks over the past couple of months as the NATO and U.S. forces are withdrawing from the country. The war-torn country is due to take over the responsibility for its own security from NATO-led troops by the end of this year.

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