Taliban ambush Afghan police, kill three

KABUL, May 23 (Reuters) Taliban guerrillas attacked a convoy of provincial officials and police in the southern province of Helmand, killing three policemen and wounding six, government officials said today.

The ambush came after several days of some of the heaviest Taliban attacks since they were ousted in 2001 and just as NATO is bringing thousands of extra troops into the country.

Over 250 people have been killed since last Wednesday -- more than the number reported killed in Iraq during the same period -- according to figures from the U.S. military and Afghan authorities.

Nearly five years after they were forced from power by US and Afghan opposition troops, the Taliban appear better organised and more aggressive than at any time since their ouster.

The government convoy, that included the provincial police chief, was travelling in the north of Helmand when it came under attack late yesterday, a provincial official said.

''As a result of the clash, three policemen were martyred and six were wounded,'' said Interior Ministry spokesman Yousuf Stanizai. He said there were also Taliban casualties but he had no details.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Mohammad Yousuf, claimed responsibility for the attack and said there were no Taliban casualties.

Most of the dead were militants but included dozens of Afghan police and troops, four foreign soldiers and civilians.

There were no reports of clashes on Tuesday.

The Taliban have not managed to capture and hold territory but ever larger swathes of the countryside are off limits to government and aid workers at a time the government should be pushing its authority and development work into rural areas.

The violence is also disastrous for Afghan efforts to attract investment, economists say.

President Hamid Karzai invited investors from the United Arab Emirates to come to his country, in a speech there yesterday, as news was emerging from southern Afghanistan of scores killed in fighting.

REUTERS CH VA RAI1146