At least eight Afghan security force members have been killed by the Taliban in the northwestern province of Faryab, a police spokesman said on February 3.

Spokesman Abdul Karim Youresh said the attackers killed four police officers and four members of a local defense force aiding police at a checkpoint in the Almar district during the night.

All of the victims belonged to one family.

Youresh said the Taliban carried out the attack with the help of one of the men posted at the security station. He said that the man was associated with the Taliban but had recently pretended to have left the militant group.

He said the man, a relative of the commander in charge of the station, had been allowed to join the security force after tribal elders gave guarantees on his behalf.

Meanwhile, Gul Agha Roohani, chief of police in eastern Nangarhar Province, said that 12 suspected Islamic State militants were killed when they attacked security posts in the district of Kot early on February 3. Roohani said one police officer was also killed.

Separately, provincial Governor Mohammad Alias Wahdat said an unknown gunman fatally shot a cleric and his wife in eastern Paktyka Province on February 2 in the Yusof Khail district.



Police said there were no immediate claims of responsibility.

Based on reporting by dpa and AP