Kabul, Nov 12 (IANS): At least five policemen were killed when some unidentified insurgents attacked a police check point in the northern Afghan province of Badakhshan overnight, police said Wednesday morning.

The provincial deputy police chief, Abdul Qadir Sayyad told Xinhua that an unknown number of militants armed with AK-47 guns stormed a security point of an azure mine in Kuran Wa Munjan district of the mountainous province, killing five policemen of the post.

He said several militants were also killed and injured in retaliatory firing by police forces in the province, the capital of which is Faizabad, 315 km northeast of Afghanistan's capital Kabul.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the incident.

Zabiullah Mujahid, claiming to be a Taliban spokesman, told media that the militants have carried out the attack and killed 13 police officers besides destroying several police vehicles.

A surge in attacks has been witnessed in Afghanistan over the past couple of months as NATO and US forces are withdrawing from the war-torn country. Afghanistan is due to take over the responsibility for its own security from NATO-led troops by the end of year.

More than 34,000 US-led coalition troops, down from the peak of 130,000 in 2010, are currently stationed in Afghanistan. Nearly 24,000 of them are Americans and the US plans to trim its forces to less than 10,000 next year.