Top Afghanistan policeman killed in gunbattle

Kandahar: Officials say a gunbattle erupted inside a government complex in this key southern Afghan city Monday, killing a top police official and seriously wounding a provincial police chief.

Mohammad Khan, an employee in the attorney general's office says the fight involved a joint US and Afghan security team and police officials near Kandahar's attorney general's office.

A police official said that the provincial head of the criminal investigations department, Abdul Khaliq Hamdard, was killed in the clash. The official spoke on condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The officer said the provincial police chief, Matiullah Qati, was also wounded as well as several other policemen were wounded.