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Five Police Killed By Colleague In Eastern Afghanistan, Official Says


FILE: Aghan security forces inspect a checkpoint, set alight by Islamic State (IS) during overnight clashes between Afghan forces.
FILE: Aghan security forces inspect a checkpoint, set alight by Islamic State (IS) during overnight clashes between Afghan forces.

An Afghan police officer has shot and killed five of his colleagues in the eastern province of Nangarhar, local officials say.

Ghani Khel district Governor Abdul Wahab Momand said the policeman turned his rifle on colleagues as they slept at an outpost late on May 18.

Ataullah Khogyani, the provincial governor’s spokesman, said the officers were first poisoned and then shot dead by their colleague.

Momand said the attacker, identified as Nasratullah, collected the victims' firearms before fleeing the scene.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Both the extremist group Islamic State (IS) and the Taliban are active in Nangarhar Province, which borders Pakistan.

On May 17, four attackers stormed the state television building in the provincial capital, Jalalabad, triggering an hourslong gunbattle with security forces.

The IS group claimed responsibility for the attack that left 10 people dead, including the attackers.

Based on reporting by AP and Pajhwok

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