About seven policemen were killed following a Taliban armed attack on a security checkpoint in northern Afghanistan's province of Faryab overnight, sources said on Wednesday.

"Militants numbered 10 or 12 launched an attack on Afghan Local Police (ALP) checkpoint in Unbiggi area of Qaisar province at midnight, leaving seven ALP cops killed," the district governor Abdul Jamil Seddiqi told Xinhua.

The police have launched an investigation into the incident, the source added.

The ALP, or community police, was established in 2010 to protect villages and districts around country where army and police have limited presence.

The Taliban insurgent group has intensified attacks recently as the Afghan army and police took the full operational lead from foreign troops last year.

The war-torn country is due to take over the responsibility for its own security from foreign troops by the end of the year.

More than 52,000-strong NATO-led foreign troops, down from the peak of 130,000 in 2010, are currently being deployed in Afghanistan.