MAIMANA, Afghanistan, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- The police chief of Garziwan district of the Faryab province in northern Afghanistan, along with three of his bodyguards, were killed in a Taliban attack on Monday, an official said Tuesday.

The four were killed after a mortar mine, fired by Taliban militants, struck the police compound on Monday, a member of Faryab provincial council Sibghatullah Silab said.

Garziwan district in the troubled Faryab province has been the scene of fierce fighting between security forces and the Taliban group over the past one week.

Both the government forces and the Taliban fighters have intensified operations to gain more ground and consolidate positions ahead of snowfall and freezing winter in Afghanistan.