7 police mysteriously killed in Sangin

LASHKARGAH (Pajhwok): Seven policemen have been killed mysteriously in the Sangin district of southern Helmand province, an official said on Monday.

A government official, who did not want to be named, told Pajhwok Afghan News the policemen were found dead at their checkpoint in Sarwan Kala area.

The cause of the overnight deaths is yet to be ascertained, according to the source, who said a delegation had been sent to the site to investigate the incident.

Police spokesman Col. Abdul Ahad Chopan confirmed receiving information about the incident, but he said only one policeman had been killed and another wounded.

But Sangin Social Council deputy chief Haji Ghulam Jan the seven policemen were killed in a late-night clash with militants in the Katozai area of the district.

He added the post was manned by nine policemen, with two of them having gone home. “The dead include my nephew and two brothers of a local police commander.”

Another member of the council, Mohammad Musa, suspected two policemen who were recently posted to the checkpoint might have been involved in the killings. The two have since been missing.

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