Ambush kills seven Afghan police

Seven police officers have been killed in an ambush by suspected Taleban militants in the south of Afghanistan, a police official has said.

The police were on their way to rescue a convoy of comrades who had come under attack near Spin Boldak in Kandahar province on the border with Pakistan.

Kandahar provincial police chief Esmatullah Alizai said four police officers were wounded in the fighting.

He said the attackers had suffered casualties but could not give a figure.

Kandahar province has seen some of the heaviest fighting between Afghan security forces backed by foreign coalition troops and a resurgent Taleban.

The Taleban were ousted from power in 2001.