Afghanistan ( Six Afghan police were shot and killed Monday by another " Cop " )

KABUL – Six Afghan police were shot and killed Monday and another was wounded by one their comrades at a checkpoint in the eastern province of Herat, a police official told Efe.

The slaying occurred at mid-morning in the Gulran district, and after shooting his comrades the police officer escaped to join the Taliban, according to the official who preferred to remain anonymous.

Security forces are hunting the fugitive, the official said.

Such insider attacks have occurred with some frequency over the past two years – including more than 50 in 2012 – and the targets have often been international NATO troops deployed in Afghanistan.

Taliban rebels tend to claim responsibility for these attacks, which are launched by their combatants who have infiltrated the ranks of Afghan security forces.

The conflict in Afghanistan has entered one of its bloodiest phases since the U.S. invasion that brought down the fundamentalist Taliban regime in late 2001, and at a time when the complete withdrawal of NATO troops is scheduled for the end of 2014.