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KABUL: A roadside bomb attack on a police convoy in eastern Afghanistan killed four officers Sunday, including a local police commander, authorities said.
It was the latest of a series of attacks as warm weather has brought renewed fighting to much of the country and the Taliban have pledged to step up assaults on Afghan security forces.
The blast on Sunday struck the second vehicle in a four-truck convoy that was driving through Mahmud-i-Raqi, the capital of Kapisa province, said provincial spokesman Qais Qaderi. All four men inside the vehicle were killed, including Mahmud-i-Raqi police commander Jan Agha Faizi, he said.
Qaderi added that the bomb appeared to have been detonated remotely and that he believed Faizi was the target of the attack.
Afghan security forces currently number about 330,000 and are to peak at 352,000 by the end of the year. They are expected to take over much of the fighting as the US draws down an additional 23,000 troops to 68,000 by the end of September. US troop levels reached a high of about 100,000 last year.
The Afghan army and police are now in charge of security for areas home to half the nation's population, with coalition forces in a support role. The international alliance hopes to keep handing over control until Afghan forces are fully in charge by the end of 2013, with the majority of international combat troops scheduled to withdraw from the country by the end of 2014.
The handover of responsibility for security in Kapisa province has not yet been scheduled.
