MAZAR-E-SHARIF -- A roadside bomb killed nine police officers outside their checkpoint in northern Afghanistan, officials said Sunday (April 9), in the latest casualties ahead of the spring fighting season.
The bomb exploded Saturday (April 8) when police entered a Taliban stronghold they had retaken in Chamtal District in Balkh Province.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the explosion. The Taliban are soon expected to announce their annual spring offensive.
"Nine local policemen were martyred and four others sustained injuries in an IED [improvised explosive device] explosion in Chamtal District," local police spokesman Sher Jan Durrani told AFP.
