KABUL, Afghanistan ¯ An Afghan police officer fired on American Special Operations troops and Afghan forces Monday morning, killing two coalition soldiers in the second insider attack in three days, Afghan officials said.
Follow up:
The shooting, at a joint military base in Wardak Province, happened shortly after a security meeting between the police and American and Afghan forces, the officials said. The gunman, who fired from a truck-mounted machine gun, was killed, said Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the Defense Ministry spokesman.
Afghan officials also said that three Afghan police officers died in the firefight, and that the district police chief was seriously wounded. The death toll for other Afghan security forces, including the commandos who shared the base with the Special Operations soldiers, was unclear. It was also not clear whether the attacker was a Taliban infiltrator.
The violence in Wardak Province, a Taliban stronghold southwest of Kabul that is often used as a staging ground for attacks on the capital, comes at a sensitive time for both the Americans and the Afghans.
Sunday was the deadline set by President Hamid Karzai for all Special Operations forces to leave Wardak. Mr. Karzai ordered them out two weeks ago, after allegations of torture and killing by Afghans working for the elite American forces came to light. The Americans have denied the accusations.
The attack on Monday also followed a tense visit by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Mr. Karzai has intensified criticism of American forces operating in Afghanistan in recent weeks. Chief among his complaints was a failed effort on Saturday to hand over control of Bagram Prison to the Afghan government, which the president views as crucial in his bid to assert national sovereignty.
After a relative lull in insider violence against Westerners, also known as green-on-blue attacks, two such attacks have come in close order. On Friday, three men in Afghan Army uniforms killed a civilian contractor and two Afghan soldiers at a joint military base in Kapisa Province. That attack was the first case of insider violence against Westerners since January.
Follow up:
The shooting, at a joint military base in Wardak Province, happened shortly after a security meeting between the police and American and Afghan forces, the officials said. The gunman, who fired from a truck-mounted machine gun, was killed, said Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the Defense Ministry spokesman.
Afghan officials also said that three Afghan police officers died in the firefight, and that the district police chief was seriously wounded. The death toll for other Afghan security forces, including the commandos who shared the base with the Special Operations soldiers, was unclear. It was also not clear whether the attacker was a Taliban infiltrator.
The violence in Wardak Province, a Taliban stronghold southwest of Kabul that is often used as a staging ground for attacks on the capital, comes at a sensitive time for both the Americans and the Afghans.
Sunday was the deadline set by President Hamid Karzai for all Special Operations forces to leave Wardak. Mr. Karzai ordered them out two weeks ago, after allegations of torture and killing by Afghans working for the elite American forces came to light. The Americans have denied the accusations.
The attack on Monday also followed a tense visit by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Mr. Karzai has intensified criticism of American forces operating in Afghanistan in recent weeks. Chief among his complaints was a failed effort on Saturday to hand over control of Bagram Prison to the Afghan government, which the president views as crucial in his bid to assert national sovereignty.
After a relative lull in insider violence against Westerners, also known as green-on-blue attacks, two such attacks have come in close order. On Friday, three men in Afghan Army uniforms killed a civilian contractor and two Afghan soldiers at a joint military base in Kapisa Province. That attack was the first case of insider violence against Westerners since January.
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