HEART: At least 22 police were killed in a Taliban ambush in westernAfghanistan, a health official said Monday, in another blow to Afghanforces already suffering record casualties.

The attack on the police convoy in Farah province on Sunday also wounded atleast two officers, said Shir Ahmad Weda, director of the public hospitalin the provincial capital.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a WhatsApp message,saying 25 police were killed and four wounded.

“Four vehicles were destroyed and a large quantity of weapons were seized,”Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a spokesman for the militants, added.

The Taliban have stepped up attacks on Afghan security forces in recentmonths, inflicting record casualties even as efforts to engage themilitants in peace talks intensify. – APP / AFP