Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
July 30, 2019
An Afghan soldier has shot and killed two U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan’s southern province of Kandahar, officials say.
A spokesman for the Afghan military said on July 30 that the two soldiers were killed when a member of the Afghan National Army opened fire on troops inside a military base in the district of Shah Wali Kot the previous day.
The soldier who turned his gun on the Americans was wounded during the attack and is now in custody, said the spokesman, Ahmad Sadiq.
The U.S. military said on July 29 that two of its service members were killed in Afghanistan, but provided no details.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, U.S. officials said that they had died in a so-called insider attack.
In such attacks, sometimes referred to as “green-on-blue,” Afghan forces turn their weapons on international soldiers with whom they are working.
At least 11 U.S. troops have been killed in Afghanistan since the beginning of the year.
The United States has about 14,000 troops in the country as part of a 23,000-strong NATO-led mission that is training and assisting the Afghan government’s security forces in their fight against Taliban militants and other extremist groups.
Based on reporting by dpa, AP, Reuters, and AFP