An Afghan official says that at least five police officers have been killed in a Taliban attack on their patrol in southern Kandahar province.

A spokesman for the provincial chief police in Kandahar says nine other police were wounded in Sunday's attack in Marouf district near the border with Pakistan. The spokesman, Zia Durrani, says 15 Taliban fighters were killed and 11 others were wounded in the gunbattle.

Durrani said Monday that the battle lasted several hours after reinforcements arrived.

A spokesman for the Taliban, Qari Yussouf Ahmadi, claimed responsibility for the attack in Kandahar in a statement sent to media.

The insurgent group routinely targets Afghan officials and security forces across the country, though it is more active in southern provinces.