NATO: Afghan Insider Attack Kills 4 Troops

As Afghans say separate NATO strike kills 8 women, girls
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 16, 2012 6:18 AM CDT
NATO: Afghan Insider Attack Kills 4 Troops
This June 19, 2012 file photo shows a US soldier, part of NATO forces, patrolling a police station in Kandahar, Afghanistan.   (AP Photo/Allauddin Khan, File)

NATO forces in Afghanistan say four international service members have been killed in an apparent insider attack by Afghan police officers. The international alliance says in a statement that the attack happened early today in the volatile southern region of the country. The statement does not provide details other than to say the attack was "suspected to involve members of the Afghan police." NATO has denied that the dead troops were special forces, notes the BBC.

The attack comes as eight women and girls were killed in an overnight airstrike by NATO forces in eastern Afghanistan, according to Afghan officials. A Laghman provincial government spokesman says villagers from Alingar district brought the bodies to the governor's office today. He says the women were out gathering firewood before dawn when they were targeted by planes. A provincial health director says seven injured females were brought to the hospitals for treatment, some as young as 10. A NATO spokesman says that it's under investigation, but that initial reports showed only insurgents were killed in the airstrike. (More NATO stories.)

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