Eight policemen have been killed in an attack on a police checkpoint in southern Afghanistan, a police official has said.

 

Unidentified gunmen tossed a grenade at the checkpoint and then opened fire in the Panjwayi district in Kandahar, the official said.

 

Two other policemen were missing from the checkpoint after Thursday's attack, he said.

 

Policemen have often been targeted by militants in Afghanistan.

 

At least one policeman was injured.

 

Panjwayi is a Taleban stronghold, but it is unclear whether the militants were responsible for the attack.

 

"At this point we cannot say if the two missing policemen are taken by the Taleban or if there was some problem among policemen in the post and they fought and killed each other," provincial police chief Mutihullah Khan told the AFP news agency.

 

Last month, insurgents shot dead a policewoman in the western city of Herat.