Clashes kill 9 people including policemen in Afghanistan

At least nine people including six policemen were killed in two separate attacks by Taliban rebels in eastern Nangarhar and southern Helmand provinces of Afghanistan, said officials on Wednesday.
Maj. Hazrat Hussain Mashraqiwal, Nangarhar police spokesman told media that four people including three civilians and a policeman were killed and 14 others wounded when militants launched coordinated attack on the center of Bati Kot district.
According to local media reports, a group of insurgents entered the district market opening indiscriminate fire and fled after killing four people. Security forces cordoned off the area and the wounded were shifted to hospitals for treatment.
Moreover, five policemen were killed during a clash in Sangin district of Helmand that erupted in northern region of the district after militants stormed police posts, said Helmand police chief Col. Pacha Gul Bakhtyar. The security forces retaliated by killing at least four Taliban rebels, he added.
The clashes came at a time when NATO/ISAF forces leave Afghanistan ending the 13-year war handing the security control of the country to Afghan forces from January 1st.