KANDAHAR: A rogue Afghan policeman drugged his colleagues before shooting five of them dead, officials said Thursday.

The incident took place Wednesday night at a checkpoint where 13 policemen were posted in southern Kandahar province.

The attacker was later shot dead by police from a nearby checkpoint who approached after hearing the firing.

"Around 9:00 pm, a rogue policeman turned his weapon on his colleagues in a police checkpoint in Zherai district of Kandahar province," Rahmatullah Atrafi, deputy police chief for the province, told AFP.

"Tragically, we have five policemen martyred and seven others were wounded -- they fell asleep after being drugged," he added.

The provincial governor spokesman Samim Khpalwak confirmed the account to AFP.

The Afghan military, which was rebuilt after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, has struggled with the phenomenon, as well as high casualty rates and mass desertions.

Last month, a rogue Afghan policeman drugged and then shot dead 10 of his colleagues in a police post in the Chinarto district of Uruzgan province.