Gunbattle at Afghan police station leaves 22 dead

INSURGENTS attacked a police headquarters in southeastern Afghanistan, sparking a battle yesterday that killed at least 15 fighters and seven Afghan police, a police chief said.

It was part of a disturbing new surge of violence in the country.

The siege began shortly before midnight Saturday when about 400 guerrillas attacked the police headquarters in the town of Barmal in Paktika province, about 125 miles southeast of Kabul, said provincial governor Mohammed Ali Jalali.