Five Afghan policemen killed

At least five Afghan border policemen were killed in an attack by a renegade colleague in Kushk-i-Kuhna district of Afghanistan's Herat province, sources said Monday. The assailant later reportedly joined the Taliban.

"According to initial reports, a member of Afghan Border Police (ABP) named Bismillah was involved in a shooting incident in a border outpost in the district, north of provincial capital of Herat city midnight, killing five cops," Juma Gul Adil, a senior provincial ABP official told Xinhua.

The attacker reportedly fled and joined the Taliban in the district bordering Turkmenistan, sources said.

Afghan soldiers and police casualties have risen recently as the US and NATO troops in Afghanistan switched from combat to support role, namely training, advising and assisting the forces.