Afghan civilian, 2 police killed in Taliban firing in Heart

Two police and one civilian were killed and five civilians were injured Tuesday when Taliban insurgent fighters launched an attack on a police checkpoint in western Herat province, police said.
"The attack took place in Obe District bazaar at round 11:30 a. m. local time. At least three militants were involved in the incident. They fired on police security checkpoint by AK-47 guns. The Taliban fled the scene shortly after the attack," the district police chief, Shir Aqa Alokozi, told Xinhua.
An investigation was launched into the case. The police rolled out a manhunt operation to arrest the culprits, the source added.
On Monday, about 18 civilians were wounded in similar incidents in eastern Nangarhar province.
The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since they launched an annual rebel offensive against Afghan government forces and more than 51,000 NATO-led troops stationed in the country in mid- May.
The war-torn country is due to take over the responsibility for its own security from foreign troops by the end of the year. The United States plans to trim its forces to less than 10,000 next year.
More than 2,900 civilians were killed and nearly 5,700 wounded in conflicts and Taliban-led attacks in the war-torn country last year, according to figures released by UN mission in the country.
The officials blamed the attacks of Taliban insurgents and other armed groups for vast majority of the civilian deaths