Police Officer Killed, Another Wounded in Helmand Blast

One police officer was killed, and another was wounded in an explosion that targeted a vehicle in Helmand on Wednesday, sources said.

An IED hit the police officer’s private vehicle, the sources said, in PD3 of Lashkargah city, capital of the province.

“A car mechanic was also with the police officer inside his vehicle and was wounded in the blast,” the source said.

Local officials have not yet commented.

No group including the Taliban has claimed responsibility.

Data collected by TOLOnews shows that 270 civilians and security force members were killed and 173 more were wounded in various security incidents across the country in February.

The findings show that 166 security incidents, including magnetic IED blasts, roadside bomb blasts, targeted attacks and Taliban offensives, occurred in Afghanistan in February.

The data shows that the February casualties are slightly less than what was reported by TOLOnews in January.

TOLOnews’ data was confirmed by independent sources.

In January, TOLOnews findings indicated that 271 people were killed, and 347 others were wounded in Afghanistan.

According to the findings, most of the security incidents were due to magnetic IED blasts and targeted attacks in major cities, including Kabul, Nangarhar, Herat, Kandahar and Faryab.