Insurgents kill 4 in attack on Afghan checkpoint

Afghan officials say the Taliban have attacked a police checkpoint in the western Herat province, setting off a battle in which a policeman and three civilians were killed.

Police spokesman Abdul Ahad Walizada says six of the attackers were killed in the battle late Tuesday.

The Taliban effectively control nearly half the country and carry out daily attacks that mainly target security forces.

In the eastern Nangarhar province, meanwhile, the director of a local TV station was kidnapped.

Attahullah Khogyani, the governor's spokesman, says the TV director, known as Engineer Zelmia, was kidnapped late Tuesday. Zelmia's driver was shot and killed.

No one immediately claimed the abduction, but the Taliban and the Islamic State group are both active in Nangarhar.