Blast hits US-led convoy, kills six Afghan police

KHOST, Afghanistan, July 12 (Reuters) Six Afghan policemen were killed today when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle, part of a convoy of US-led forces in southeastern Afghanistan, a provincial police official said.

There were no reports of casualties among soldiers from the blast, which happened on a dirt road in a district of Khost province, close to the border with Pakistan, he said.

Afghan forces and US soldiers began an operation in the area following the attack, the official added. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast.

Violence has surged in Afghanistan in the past 18 months, the bloodiest period since US-led troops overthrew Taliban's radical Islamic government in 2001.

Inspired by militants in Iraq, the Taliban largely rely on roadside bombs and suicide attacks as a major part of their campaign against foreign and Afghan government forces.

More than 6,000 people have been killed in violence since 2006 in Afghanistan and this year is regarded as a crunch period for all sides involved in the conflict.

The Taliban and their Islamic allies are active in southern and eastern regions and have vowed to drive out foreign troops from Afghanistan and topple the central government.

Reuters AE DB1247