Roadside bombs kill at least 10 Afghan police

KHOST, Afghanistan, May 24 (Reuters) At least 10 policemen and a district chief were killed by two roadside bomb blasts today in Afghanistan, officials said.

One of the blasts killed six police officers and the district chief while they were travelling in a vehicle in Yahya Kheil district of southeastern Paktika province, close to the border with Pakistan, provincial governor Akram Khpelwak said.

Hours later, four policemen died in a similar attack in the southern province of Kandahar, provincial officials said. Several more were wounded in the explosion, they said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the Paktika attack and could not be contacted immediately about the blast in Kandahar.

Violence has surged in recent months in Afghanistan after a lull during winter. Last year's fighting was the bloodiest since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 and the militants have vowed to step up their campaign against foreign forces.

The guerrillas are largely active in southern and eastern areas where more than 5,000 people have been killed in the past 16 months.

The violence is rising despite the presence of nearly 50,000 foreign troops led by NATO and the US military as well as about 100,000 Afghan security forces.

Reuters AK GC1837