At least 20 Afghan policemen were killed in Taliban ambushes in south central Afghanistan, officials said on Sunday, the latest in a string of insurgent attacks that come as the Nato-led military mission considers sending thousands of additional troops to the war-torn nation. A group of Taliban fighters armed with heavy and light weapons launched coordinated attacks on several police checkpoints in Shah Joy district of Zabul province, killing 20 policemen," provincial governor Bismillah Afghanmal told reporters, adding that at least 15 others were wounded in the fighting. The Taliban later claimed responsibility for the coordinated attacks on its website

Dozens of Taliban, who have been waging a 16-year-long battle against the Western-backed government in Kabul, were also reported killed and wounded, Afghanmal said.
A Taliban raid kills at least 20 Afghan police officers in southern Afghanistan.