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Afghan policemen defect to Taliban in Badghis Province: Report
Members of the Afghan national police (file photo)
Mon Dec 24, 2012 2:57PM GMT
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A group of Afghan national police officers in the western province of Badghis have defected to join the Taliban militants, Press TV reports.
According to local officials, at least ten Afghan police officers defected to the militant group on Sunday after they left a police station in Chehl-Gazi area at the Abkamari district.
However, the Taliban have not confirmed the report.
A local security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the officers also took weapons and ammunition.
Residents in Abkamari say the defection had been pre-planned.
In July, some 20 Afghan police officers defected to the Taliban following a dispute with Australian soldiers in Chahar Chino district of the southern province of Uruzgan. The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror.
The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity remains across the country despite the presence of thousands of foreign forces.
FAM/MAM/HSN