Miranjan (Afghanistan): Taliban militants crept through groves of grape vines and pomegranate trees to launch a surprise assault, killing 11 policemen sleeping on a mud floor in southern Afghanistan.

The attack early yesterday at a small police outpost 25 kilometers north of Kandahar the Taliban s former stronghold was the latest assault against the vulnerable police force.

Insurgents sneaked up on the police checkpoint, killing an officer on the roof of the compound who was supposed to be keeping watch but who may have fallen asleep, said Mohammad Rauf, a policeman sent as a replacement.

The attackers walked into the mud-brick compound and opened fire on officers sleeping on simple mattresses and blankets on the dirt floor, Rauf said.

Of the 12 officers at the compound, 11 were killed and one was seriously wounded, Rauf said.

The ambush was the latest in a string of recent attacks on police in the south. Eight policemen were killed Saturday four while destroying opium poppies in Kandahar and four who were manning a checkpoint in Helmand. Seven police on the poppy-eradication force were killed April 7 in Kandahar.

Militants killed more than 925 Afghan police last year more than 10 per cent of the country's 8,000 insurgency-related deaths documented by the UN.

The US has spent about USD 4 billion to train and equip police over the last three years. Washington gave Afghan police 76,000 Kalashnikov rifles, 56,000 pistols and 3,500 vehicles last year, said Lt Col David Johnson, a spokesman for the US military group overseeing police and army training.

Source : PTI