Four Policemen Killed in Taliban Attacks in Afghanistan

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBBAJ867DE.html

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - A spate of assaults by suspected Taliban rebels killed four policemen and wounded an election candidate, and Afghanistan warned Sunday that aid workers and other "soft" targets were in danger of attack ahead of elections this month.

The warning came after a string of kidnappings that left a British engineer and two Japanese teachers dead. Five Afghans, including a district governor and an election candidate, were also kidnapped last week. A purported Taliban spokesman claimed to have killed them, though the claim couldn't be independently confirmed.

Interior Ministry spokesman Latfullah Mashal said he was confident the Sept. 18 legislative elections would be successful even though "al-Qaida and the Taliban will try their best to disrupt peace and stability."

"We believe that this will not affect the overall security situation," he told The Associated Press. "They (militants) focus on soft targets attacking candidates, burning schools, aid workers. But the security workers have also taken necessary measures to provide needed security."

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Suspected Taliban gunmen killed five Afghan policemen in an ambush on Sunday, the latest incident in a wave of violence ahead of September 18 elections, an official said.

Security is the main worry two weeks before the country goes to the polls to elect a lower house of parliament and councils in its 34 provinces, the next big step on its difficult path to stability.

"The district police chief along with three of his body guards and his nephew were killed in the Taliban ambush," said Mohammad Wali Alizai, a spokesman for the governor of troubled Helmand province in the south.

Three Taliban fighters were killed and two wounded when government forces counter-attacked after the ambush in a remote part of the province, he said.

Taliban officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050904/wl_nm/afghan_violence_dc