Attacks on Afghan security forces kill 5

Afghan officials say insurgents have killed five people, including two police and a tribal leader, in two separate attacks.

Abdul Aziz Beg, the head of the provincial council in the western Badghis province, says militants attacked a checkpoint, killing two police and wounding four others.

He says another four police were missing after the attack early today. It was not clear who was behind the attack.

In the central Ghor province, the Taliban killed three people, including a tribal leader, in an attack on a district police headquarters.

Police spokesman Iqbal Nezami says security forces repelled the attack late yesterday.

The Taliban have stepped up attacks across the country since announcing their annual spring offensive last month.