Taliban remnants on Wednesday launched an ambush on a police convoy in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province which left seven police dead and two missing, an official confirmed Thursday.

"A three-vehicle police convoy was going from Uruzgan to Kandahar, when it reached Shahwali Kot district it came under Taliban attack resultantly, seven police died on the spot in counter attack and exchange of fire," Governor of Uruzgan Hajji Jan Mohammad told Xinhua.

Two more policemen went missing and apparently had been taken away by the militants, he said.

One of the police vehicles, the official added, had escaped from the scene while two others were destroyed in the ambush and fire exchange.

Taliban's spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmadi accepted responsibility for the bloody attack and said fighters of the former fundamentalist regime eliminated 12 policemen in the ambush.

Meanwhile, two Afghan-original Americans who worked as translators for the US military in the troubled Uruzgan province were also kidnapped and beheaded by the militants three days ago.

Southern Afghan provinces of Uruzgan, Kandahar, Zabul and Helmand known as the heartland of Taliban, have been the scene of increasing insurgency over the past two years.

The Taliban-led militancy has claimed the lives of over 1,500, including rebels, Afghan and US troops as well as pro-government figures and aid workers since the beginning of this year.

Source: Xinhua