Eighteen Afghan policemen died in an ambush by insurgents in the southern province of Helmand, a government spokesman said today.
The ambush occurred in Helmand's Registan district yesterday afternoon and was followed by a clash that went on until early today, an interior ministry spokesman said. A senior provincial police was among the victims, police said.
It is the deadliest attack on the German-trained Afghan national police since US-led forces overthrew the Taliban in 2001.
The attack occurred in an area infested with drug traffickers, militants and afflicted with strife stirred up by feuding tribes.
Violence has increased in several parts of southern and eastern Afghanistan in recent weeks, coinciding with last week's start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
Militants believe they will receive a big reward from Allah if they either die or kill while fighting enemy forces in the holy month.
The Taliban say a number of their "devotees" have recently infiltrated major cities to carry out suicide missions.
Four suicide blasts over the past week have killed at least 10 people and wounded four British government officials in adjacent Kandahar province.
Two US soldiers have also been killed and three others wounded in separate incidents in the south over the past four days.