Two attacks kill 16 Afghan police

Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior says that 16 Afghan National Police officers have been killed in two attacks on checkpoints in southern and northern parts of the country.

The ministry said on Monday that the first attack occurred before dawn in Baghlan Province, north of Kabul. A group of armed militants attacked a police checkpoint, killing eight policemen.

At about the same time, militants attacked another police checkpoint in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand Province, in southern Afghanistan.

Another eight police were reported killed there. Both incidents are under investigation.