A roadside bomb killed four police officers in western Afghanistan, and two soldiers died in separate militant attacks, the latest attack against the country’s struggling security forces, officials said Wednesday.
The attacks follow deadly Taliban ambushes on checkpoints in the north and south of the country Monday that killed 16 national police officers — underscoring the threat faced by Afghan forces seen as pivotal to plans for an eventual withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan.
The roadside bomb hit a car carrying the police Tuesday night in Rubat-i-Sangin district, north of the city of Herat, according to the Afghan Interior Ministry.
Also Tuesday, two Afghan army soldiers were killed in militant attacks in eastern Laghman province and southern Kandahar province, the Defense Ministry said.
The ministry said militants have carried out 3,170 bombings or suicide attacks so far this year. An additional 3,617 bombs were defused before they exploded.
