720 Afghan police killed in 6 months

[September 16, 2008]  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Insurgent attacks have killed around 720 Afghan police in the last six months as militants have increased the pace of bombings and ambushes, an official said Tuesday.

Most of the police deaths have come from frontal attacks by militants, said Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary. The 720 deaths happened during the first six months of the Afghan calendar.

In 2008, militants killed about 925 police -- meaning the pace of attacks this year has spiked.

Afghanistan's 82,000 police have less training and less firepower than the Afghan army, making them a favorite target for militants. The police also travel in small groups through some of Afghanistan's most dangerous territory.

Meanwhile, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said its forces killed 10 militants in Wardak province on the Kabul-Kandahar highway on Sunday. Insurgents attacked the soldiers with a rocket and NATO soldiers responded with artillery and fighter aircraft, NATO said.

The battle took place about 40 miles southwest of Kabul.

More than 4,100 people -- mostly militants -- have died in insurgency related violence this year, according to an Associated Press tally of figures from Afghan and Western officials.

[Associated Press]

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