An incident of Taliban forces killing six Afghan Local Police (ALP) has been chalked up to an insider attack according to officials, who say that one of the other ALP let the Taliban into the base as the others slept, then joined them.

In addition to the six killed, a seventh ALP was reported wounded in the attack, in Ghazni Province. Unconfirmed reports from some officials say an eighth person was still at the base unharmed, and that he has been detained as a possible suspect.

The US-funded ALP are not officially part of the Afghan government, but rather are given police powers as independent factions. The groups were founded on the assumption that with steady pay, warlords that are pro-Taliban could be convinced to change sides.