The attackers of the Saturday's blast in Afghanistan that killed the chief of Afghan police Dawood Dawood, were wearing police uniforms at the time of attack.

The attacker was wearing police uniform, said Tawhidi, making this the latest in a string of attacks by some rogue members of the security forces or insurgents who have used uniforms to breach security cordons.

The police chief of Kandahar province, Khan Mohammad Khan was killed by another attacker wearing police uniform in mid-April, and authorities have struggled to find a replacement.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he condemned the attack in the strongest terms. The martyrs of this brutal attack were those who tirelessly worked to bring peace in the country, he said in a statement, reports Reuters.

An insurgent in army uniform also struck inside the Defense Ministry headquarters in Kabul a few days afterwards, killing two, although neither was a senior leader.

Fighters are under pressure in traditional strongholds because of a surge in U.S. troops. They are seeking spectacular urban attacks to underline their reach, and the use of rogue police and troops, or insurgents in uniforms, has been growing, the report stated.

The Taliban this month announced the start of a long-expected spring offensive, vowing to carry out attacks including suicide bombings on foreign and Afghan troops and government officials.

The assaults by uniformed insurgents also draw attention to the pressure U.S. and NATO troops face as they try their best to prepare Afghan security forces for a critical security handover which begins later this year.

Western forces in Afghanistan have begun to train counter-intelligence agents to help root out Taliban infiltrators in the Afghan army and police, General William Caldwell, head of the U.S. and NATO training mission in Afghanistan, said recently.

Afghanistan Afghanistan