The Taliban followed through on a promise of new bloodshed yesterday with a grisly Afghanistan attack that killed three police officers, local officials said.
The assault came just hours after the group announced a fresh offensive against foreign military targets this spring, including widespread suicide attacks.
A roadside bomb killed three police officers and injured two others in Ghazni province early yesterday, officials said.
The Taliban threat is likely to concern leaders of the NATO-led military coalition as they prepare to slowly pull out of Afghanistan over the next year.
“Collective martyrdom operations on bases of foreign invaders, their diplomatic centers and military air bases will be even further structured while every possible tactic will be utilized in order to detain or inflict heavy casualties on the foreign transgressors,” a Taliban statement said.
The group also promised a new campaign of “insider” attacks. Also called “green on blue” assaults, the attacks involve Afghan police or soldiers turning on their foreign trainers and colleagues. The surprise attacks grew in frequency last year and have severely strained relations between domestic forces and coalition personnel.