By Agencies

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A series of attacks has rocked southern Afghanistan over the last 24 hours, local officials have reported.

All of the attackers were shot before they could make it further into the base in the Shah Wali Kot district.

Earlier on Tuesday, an hour-long gunbattle ensued between local police forces and fighters after fighters attacked a police checkpoint in the province's Zhari district.

At least three policemen were killed in the gunfire that ensued. Another six people were injured, according to local officials.

Tuesday's attacks followed another incident in Kandahar in which three gunmen in Afghan National Police uniforms killed a NATO service member in the latest "green-on-blue" insider attack.

The three gunmen in Monday's attack fled after killing a US service member and injuring several others, Jamie Graybeal, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force, told the Associated Press.

Although they were wearing police uniforms, it was not yet certain if the attackers were actually Afghan police or just wearing the uniforms.

Helmand attack

Also on Monday, a roadside bombing in the southwestern province of Helmand has left at least eight civilians, including women and children, dead.

Another five people were injured in the blast in Musa Qala, a district known to have a prominent Taliban presence.

The roadside bombs are set up to target foreign and national military forces. The southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar are regarded as hotbeds for Taliban activity.

Kandahar province is often referred to as the "birthplace" of the movement.

In 2010, the Operation Moshtarak offensive, including Afghan and ISAF member-state forces, targeted Helmand's "poppy-growing belt" with a particular focus on provincial capital, Lashkar Gah.