Police fled a town in western Afghanistan and suspected Taliban militants briefly moved in - the second time in a month that the government has lost control of a district in the area. The police fled to a forest near Bakwa in Farah province on Monday, a day after a roadside bomb killed four officers involved in opium poppy eradication. A group of militants moved in and stayed for about 30 minutes, seizing three vehicles before leaving, said provincial Gov. Muhajuddin Baluch.
The retreat followed Sunday's bombing of a car carrying the province's police chief on his return from destroying poppy fields. The police chief was unharmed, but four other officers in the vehicle were killed and two wounded. |