4 Police Officers Killed in Afghan Ambush

Suspected Taliban rebels ambushed a police patrol in the mountains of southern Afghanistan on Monday and killed four officers, authorities said.

The attack occurred on a dirt road in the mountainous Musa Qala district of Helmand province, said deputy provincial Gov. Amir Mohammed Akhunzada. Located about 280 miles southwest of Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, the area is suspected of being used as a hide-out by the Taliban.

The assailants fled after having fired at the vehicle, leaving the bodies of the four police officers inside, Akhunzada said. Security forces were deployed on the site to search for the attackers, he said.

Insurgents have stepped up attacks in southern Afghanistan in the last year, hampering postwar development and raising fears for the country’s fragile democracy.

Some of the violence has also been blamed on a booming trade in drugs, but Akhunzada said Monday’s attack was not believed to be linked to the illicit business.