Taliban attack kills nine Afghan police

At least nine Afghan police officers were killed and four others were injured early Monday when Taliban militants attacked a security post in Afghanistan's Ghazni province, local officials told dpa.The security post in Khohyani district in the country's south-east was destroyed by Taliban heavy weaponry, Nisar Ahmad Faqiri Faqiri, a Ghazni provincial council member said. Confirming the police casualties in the attack, Aziza Maisam, another provincial council member for Ghazni, said the Taliban attacked security posts in several districts including in the capital, Ghazni city.The attacks were repelled by Afghan security forces, Maisam said adding that the Taliban suffered heavy casualties.On Sunday, 19 Afghan police forces were killed in Taliban attacks in the north-eastern province Kunduz and the southern province of Zabul.Nightly attacks on security posts and bases are increasing and have become a weekly, if not daily, occurrence in recent months.On Saturday, nine police officers were killed when two security posts were attacked by Taliban militants in Ghazni province.As the conflict intensifies across the country, Afghan security forces are increasingly overwhelmed and demoralized, contributing to the US and NATO's decision to increase the number of international troops in Afghanistan this year.