GHAZNI: Kabul on Sunday announced it would launch an investigation into the deaths of more than 20 policemen killed in a battle with the Taliban, after relatives accused the government of failing to provide timely assistance.

Hundreds of Taliban fighters launched a raid on several check posts manned by local police in the Jalrez district of eastern Wardak province on Thursday night, triggering a battle that lasted around 24 hours. Around 23 Afghan Local Police, a militia hired and controlled by the government, were killed, officials said, with some of the dead bodies decapitated.

President Ashraf Ghani termed the killings a “war crime” and called for an investigation, according to a statement by his office on Sunday.

Hundreds of fresh forces who arrived in Jalrez on Saturday took back territory lost to the insurgents, but the families of the victims, all from the Hazara ethnic minority, said the government had failed to provide ammunition and reinforcements in time.

“It is all because of the government’s negligence, there were a lot of police and army check posts around Jalrez but nobody cared... The government is responsible for their deaths,” Mohammad Aref, the nephew of one of the fallen commanders told AFP.