2 killed as Taliban storm prison

Suspected Taliban insurgents attacked the district headquarters of Ali-Sher with guns and rocket-propelled grenades, blew up a weapons stock and killed a detainee in police custody.

"In last night's exchange of fire one detainee in police captivity died in the Taliban attack and two soldiers were wounded," Naqeebullah Asmati, the deputy intelligence director told AFP.

The authorities could not ask for support because the district had lost all communication links with the provincial capital, Asmati said.

Provincial police chief Mohammed Ayoob said that police had also killed a rebel overnight in Ali-Sher district.

Khost is an insurgency-hit province which shares a long porous border with neighboring Pakistan. Afghan officials have accused militants of crossing over from Pakistan to launch attacks in Afghanistan, a charge Pakistan denies.