At least five policemen lost their lives in an explosion in the outskirts of Kabul province late on Friday, local officials in Logar province said Saturday.
Provincial governor’s spokesman Salim Saleh said a commander of the Public Order Police Forces lost his life along with 4 policemen in Khak Jabar district.
He said Gen. Abdul Satar Hashemi was killed on Friday evening as he was on his way from Logar to Kabul and his vehicle was hit by an Improvised Explosive Device.
Saleh further added that Gen. Hashemi was serving as the commander of the 5th brigade of the Public Order Police Forces.
No group including the Taliban militants has so far claimed responsibility behind the incident.
According to reports, at least six civilians including a woman were killed in a similar incident on Azra-Khak-e-Jabar highway around four days ago.
Taliban insurgents and militants belonging to the other insurgent groups frequently use Improvised Explosive Device (IED) as the weapon of their choice to target the security forces but the ordinary civilians are often targeted in such attacks.
This comes as the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan released the latest civilian casualties report late last month which stated at least 3726 civilians were killed or wounded between January and June of this year.
According to the UN mission, the anti-government elements remain responsible for 60 percent of the civilian casualties with ground engagements continuing to cause the highest number of civilian casualties, followed by complex and suicide attacks and improved  explosive devices (IEDs).