PUL-E-KHUMRI, Afghanistan, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- A senior police official was killed following crashes in the northern province of Baghlan overnight in a latest string of targeted killing, local police said Thursday.

"Salim Kochi, commander of Afghan Local Police (ALP) in Dahana-i-Ghori district, was killed along with an ALP officer following an attack on his motorcade," provincial police Chief Akramuddin Sareh told Xinhua.

Several police vehicles were also damaged during the fighting which occurred in Zaman Khil, an area on outskirts of provincial capital Pul-e-Khumri late Wednesday, he said.

The government established the ALP, or community police, in 2010 to protect villages and districts around the country where army and police have limited presence.

Several militants were also killed and wounded during the gun battle, but their numbers could not be exactly specified, he added.

The Taliban militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The violence has been on the rise as Afghan security forces struggle against a surge in attacks by anti-government fighters since the drawdown of foreign forces within the past four years.