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Afghan clash 'kills police chief' Afghan clash 'kills police chief'
(30 minutes later)
The provincial police chief and at least eight other police have been killed in a clash with US-trained Afghan guards in Kandahar, reports say.The provincial police chief and at least eight other police have been killed in a clash with US-trained Afghan guards in Kandahar, reports say.
The clash is said to have erupted after the guards, who are employed by US special forces, tried to remove an Afghan prisoner from a civic building. The clash erupted after the guards, who are employed by US security forces, entered the prosecutor's office - reportedly to free a colleague.
The situation remains confused, with Kandahar city closed off.The situation remains confused, with Kandahar city closed off.
Kandahar province is a Taliban stronghold, but there is no suggestion the Taliban were involved.Kandahar province is a Taliban stronghold, but there is no suggestion the Taliban were involved.
It is a key battleground in the fight between Taliban insurgents and the Afghan government and coalition forces. The province is a key battleground in the fight between Taliban insurgents and the Afghan government and coalition forces.
Gun battleGun battle
The guards are said to have tried to free one of their colleagues who was being kept prisoner at the prosecutor's office in Kandahar City. It is not clear why he had been imprisoned. The clash happened after the guards - who provide security for the American military - entered the prosecutor's office in Kandahar city.
The BBC in Afghanistan has been told that what began as a fist fight with police turned into a gun battle. They were trying to free a colleague who had been arrested by the authorities, local officials told the BBC.
Ahmad Wali Karzai, head of Kandahar's provincial council and a brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, confirmed the incident. It was not immediately clear what triggered the shooting, but the BBC has been told that what began as a fist fight erupted into a gun battle.
Ahmad Wali Karzai, head of Kandahar's provincial council and a brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, said a number of officers had been killed.
"The police chief for Kandahar, the head of the city's criminal department and seven other police were killed in the clash," he told Reuters news agency."The police chief for Kandahar, the head of the city's criminal department and seven other police were killed in the clash," he told Reuters news agency.
The police chief has been named as Matiullah Qatay and the head of the criminal investigation department as Abdul Khaliq Hamdam.
A spokesman for Nato-led forces in Afghanistan said they were looking into the incident.
Kandahar is the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban. It has seen an increase in violence in recent years and shootings are common, the BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says.