Seven policemen were poisoned and shot dead by insurgents in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand province 555 km south of capital city of Kabul on Monday, said a statement of the provincial government released on Tuesday.
"Seven policemen, who were guards of a check point in the Sarkar areas in the vicinity of Lashkar Gah, were first poisoned and then shot dead by insurgents at around 02:00 p.m. local time on Monday," said the statement, Xinhua reported.
"The insurgents, who at the first made the police unconscious and then killed them by gun fires made his good escape and took a police vehicle and weapons," the statement added.
An investigation has been initiated into the case, the statement further said.
Early reports, quoting spokesman for provincial administration Daud Ahmadi emphasized that a policeman poisoned his fellow policemen and then shot them dead and made his good escape.
Lashkar Gah is one of the seven areas where Afghan soldiers and police are getting ready to take full security responsibility from the NATO and U.S. forces.