Suspected Taliban Kill Five Police in Mountain Ambush in Afghanistan

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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Militants ambushed police on a southern Afghan mountain and killed five officers, officials said, while a statement issued Wednesday, purportedly by Taliban commander Mullah Omar, urged the insurgents not to end their armed struggle.

It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the Pashto-language statement. It was e-mailed to The Associated Press by Abdul Hai Mutmahin, who used to be a spokesman for the fundamentalist regime before it was ousted by U.S.-led forces in late 2001.

"I call upon the Muslim nation to be united against the clever occupation force until the aggressors leave our soil," the statement said. "Fighting jihad is an obligation. Abandoning jihad is a big sin and a cause for humiliation of Muslims. Stand with us with your resources, with your lives."

Purported Taliban spokesmen occasionally release statements they claim are by Omar, who is believed hiding in rugged mountains along the Afghan-Pakistan frontier. Wednesday's statement was the second received by e-mail.