KABUL  (Dispatches) – At least six police officers have been killed when their two rogue colleagues opened fire and shot them dead in southern Afghanistan.
Local Afghan authorities said that the deadly shooting took place in Kandahar province. Some provincial officials confirmed that the assault also wounded the Kandahar City district police chief.
Qari Yusouf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, in a statement claimed responsibility for the fatal assault, saying that both attackers were their men who joined the police rank just to carry out such an attack and both devoted their lives for their aim.
The so-called insider attacks, when Afghan soldiers and police turn their guns on their colleagues or on U.S.-led troops, have created mistrust between local forces and their U.S.-led partners during more than 16 years of war.
In late April, the Taliban militant group announced the start of their "spring offensive", saying they would target foreign forces in the country, heralding a fresh round of fighting in the drawn-out conflict
The Taliban warned of further "complex attacks and inside attacks" by soldiers or police turning against their peers.