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An Afghan police commander and 13 junior officers have joined the Taliban in the western Afghan province of Farah , according to a report. The commander, named as Mirwais, was in charge of a 20-man checkpoint when he defected on Sunday. The men are said to have taken heavy weaponry, radios and police vehicles including US-made armoured Humvees, the BBC reports. Police and intelligence officials deployed in the province said the commander poisoned seven policemen in his charge who had refused to defect along with him. "Mirwais and his policemen had joined the force nearly two-and-a-half years ago. Mirwais had fought the insurgents in this area for quite some time," the report quoted an Afghan intelligence official, as saying. "Long before he defected, he must have been passing intelligence and crucial information to the insurgents," the official added.

Afghan police commander, 13 junior officers 'defect' to Taliban