Taliban say seize 10 police in north Afghan raid
KABUL, April 27 (Reuters) - Taliban insurgents attacked a government building in northern Afghanistan on Monday and claimed to have abducted 10 officers, a rare, bold attack in a relatively secure part of the country.
Violence has surged in recent years in Afghanistan, where the Taliban, ousted in a U.S.-led invasion in 2001, have made a comeback despite the increasing number of foreign troops.
Most of the violence has been in the south and east, home of the ethnic Pashtun communities where the insurgency has its roots. Attacks in the north are rare.
The interior ministry said nine policemen were missing after the pre-dawn attack on a district headquarters in Borka district of Baghlan province, on the northern slopes of the Hindu Kush mountains.
The militants killed one policeman and wounded another in the attack, which prompted the authorities to send reinforcements, the ministry said.
In an account on a Taliban website, www.alemarah1.org, the militants claimed to have killed three policemen as well as abducting 10. They said three of their fighters were wounded in the three-hour clash. (Reporting by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by Valerie Lee)
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