LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - An Afghan policeman shot and killed his commanding officer and a district governor in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, officials said on Tuesday, in an attack claimed by Taliban insurgents, who said the policeman had defected to their movement.
The Taliban have stepped up attacks to undermine the Afghan security forces and government after the withdrawal of most foreign combat troops 13 years after a U.S.-led intervention force toppled a former Taliban government.
Sayed Murad Sadat, chief of Helmand's Nawzad district, and police commander Shamsullah were killed in the attack during a meeting on Monday, said Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar, deputy provincial police chief.
"An investigation has already started to find out the reason for the shooting," Rasoulyar said, adding the police officer was himself shot dead after the attack.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility on his official Twitter account.
"A police infiltrator killed all officials in Nawzad district of Helmand yesterday evening," Mujahid said.
The Taliban also claimed responsibility for a car bomb that killed two people in the capital, Kabul, on Tuesday.
The magnetic bomb attached to a civilian vehicle detonated in front of a mosque in western Kabul, said Hashmat Stanekzai a spokesman for Kabul's police chief.