Afghan district police chief among six killed in bombings

Kabul, June 25 (IANS) A roadside bomb killed a district police chief and a fellow policeman in eastern Afghanistan Wednesday, while four civilians died in a similar incident earlier in the day.

"Khoja Omari district police chief Abdul Hadi and another policeman were killed while two policemen were wounded in a roadside bomb explosion in eastern Ghazni province at around midday," Mohammad Ali Ahmadi, the deputy provincial governor, told Xinhua.

The police chief was in his official vehicle and the unit was travelling from provincial capital Ghazni city when the blast took place along the main road, said the official.

On Wednesday morning, a bomb hidden in a hand cart was detonated by remote control, killing four civilians and injuring nine others in northern Faryab province, Naim Andarabi, the deputy provincial police chief, told Xinhua.

Afghanistan has been witnessing a surge in attacks since the Taliban launched a yearly rebel offensive in mid-May against Afghan security forces and NATO-led troops stationed in the country.

The war-torn country is due to take over the responsibility for its own security from foreign troops by the end of the year.

More than 51,000 coalition troops, down from the peak of 130,000 in 2010, are stationed in Afghanistan, and the US plans to trim its forces to less than 10,000 next year.