Taliban ambush aimed at police kills 2 civilians: Officials

FILE – Wounded Afghani men and children lie on the ground in a tent after a deadly attack targeted a checkpoint, in Lashkar Gah, capital of the southern Helmand province, Afghanistan, Tuesday, March 10, 2015. (AP Photo)

An Afghan official says two people have been killed and three wounded in an ambush aimed at police in eastern Kunar province, where the Taliban have a strong presence.

Farid Dhekhan, the spokesman for the provincial police chief, says the attack late Tuesday in Narang district was aimed at a police vehicle, which escaped unharmed. He says the dead were a man and woman from the same family. Dhekhan spoke Wednesday.

Kunar is on the eastern border with Pakistan and has long been an insurgent stronghold.

The Western-backed government’s nearly 13-year war against the insurgents has intensified as both sides seek to strengthen their positions ahead of possible peace talks.