28 killed in Afghanistan: officials

Twenty-eight people were killed in south Afghanistan, according to security officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The incident occurred in the Gizab district of the southern province of Uruzgan, where intense fighting has raged for days.

Zelgai Ebadi, a spokesman for the Uruzgan governor, said a militant group offered 28 local and national police a chance to go home if they surrendered Tuesday night.

"But after taking their guns, they killed them all," Ebadi said.

Provincial council head Amir Mohammad Barekzai confirmed the death toll and said heavy fighting was ongoing.

Barekzai would not say if the men had been killed before or after surrendering.

A third local official, speaking on condition of anonymity, put the toll at 28-30 police, adding that three policemen managed to escape.

The interior ministry declined to comment on the circumstances of the deaths.

In a statement, the Taliban denied it had slaughtered the policemen after they surrendered.

The 28 deaths come after at least 14 Afghan police and soldiers were killed during the same battle overnight Sunday-Monday.

Taliban and Afghan government negotiators are meeting in Doha, where they are trying to find a way to end 19 years of war.

Negotiations are moving slowly, with the two sides trying to thrash out various parameters before deciding an agenda.