Insurgents ambush Afghan army patrol, killing 4 soldiers

2/1/2014

KABUL, Afghanistan — An insurgent ambush killed four soldiers in western Afghanistan Saturday, according to an official.

Provincial spokesman Fawad Askari said another four were wounded Saturday afternoon in the attack on an Afghan National Army foot patrol along the main highway in western Afghanistan’s Farah province.

Insurgents frequently launch attacks on and around the highway, which is a main trade route through the province. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Zia Durrani, police spokesman for Kandahar Province, said Saturday that four policemen had died there a day earlier when a roadside bomb explosion hit a police vehicle.

One policeman was wounded in the blast, which occurred in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar Province, near the border with Pakistan.

Bombs in vehicles, along roadsides and carried by suicide bombers are the Taliban’s weapons of choice.

The Taliban have escalated attacks in recent months as they try to take advantage of the withdrawal of foreign troops, who handed over security for the country to Afghan forces two months ago.