A provincial official says a group of Taliban fighters have attacked a police post in northeast Afghanistan, killing four officers and abducting 16.

Badakhshan province Deputy Gov. Shams ul-Rahman said on Thursday that police reinforcements have been sent to secure the post, which sits on a key highway passing through Fayz Abad district, AP reported.  

Ul-Rahman says the Taliban carried out the attack on Wednesday night and that they were helped by militants from other Central Asian countries.

Badakhshan province is in Afghanistan's far northeast and borders Pakistan, Tajikistan and China.

Ul-Rahman says that two police officers were also wounded in the hourslong attack.