Ayaz Gul
VOA News
March 19, 2017
ISLAMABAD — At least three American soldiers were wounded Sunday when an Afghan solider opened fire at them in southern Afghanistan.
The incident happened during a training exercise at a military base in the Helmand province. The U.S. soldiers are receiving medical care, said NATO’s Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.
Afghan officials say that the attacker was swiftly gunned down by foreign troops.
So-called insider attacks in which Afghan security personnel would turn their guns on colleagues before fleeing to Taliban insurgents have taken place repeatedly in recent months.
But the frequency of such incidents involving foreign troops has declined in recent years due to strict security measures NATO commanders have put in place, in collaboration with their Afghan counterparts.
Afghanistan’s largest province of Helmand has been the scene of intense fighting in the last year and most of its districts are under the Taliban’s control or influence. American military advisors have been deployed in the region to conduct mandatory train and advise tasks to help Afghan forces in their battle against the insurgency.
A group of about 300 U.S marines is also due to arrive in the country later this year and will be deployed in Helmand to help Afghans reverse Taliban territorial gains.
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