5 Afghan police kidnapped in western province

Five Afghan police were kidnapped Friday after their checkpoint came under attack by Taliban militants in western Herat province, police said.
"Militants numbered 10 to 15 raided a security checkpoint in a surrounding area of Obe district at around midday. The kidnapping took place after a gunfight. The militants also took the weapons of the checkpoint," district police chief Shir Agha Alokozai told Xinhua.
The police have launched a search and rescue operation in the district in eastern part of provincial capital Herat city, 640 km west of Afghan capital of Kabul, he added.
The Taliban insurgent group has intensified attacks over the past couple of months as the NATO and U.S. forces are withdrawing from the country.
On Thursday evening, five people were killed following a suicide attack when militants targeted a local leader's house in neighboring Farah province.
The war-torn country is due to take over the responsibility for its own security from NATO-led troops by the end of this year.
More than 44,000 NATO-led coalition troops, down from the peak of 130,000 in 2010, are stationed in Afghanistan. Some 30,700 of them are Americans and the United States plans to trim its forces to less than 10,000 next year.