Afghan Soldier Kills 3 US Trainers

Two service members and one civilian killed
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 8, 2013 8:49 AM CDT
Afghan Soldier Kills 3 US Troops
Afghan Army soldiers line up at a training facility in the outskirts of Kabul on May 8.   (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

A man in an Afghan army uniform turned his weapon on the American trainers working with him in the country's east today, killing three of them. An argument between the Afghan soldier and his trainers appeared to have led to the shooting on an Afghan National Army base in Paktika's Kher Qot district, says the provincial governor's office. The international military coalition in Afghanistan said two American service members and one US civilian were killed. Three others were wounded, and the Afghan soldier was killed by return fire. He had no known connection to insurgent groups.

The shooting in Paktika province was the latest in a string of so-called "insider attacks" in which Afghan forces open fire on their own comrades or international troops. The incidents threaten to shake the confidence and trust of the two sides as the 2014 withdrawal of most of the international forces approaches. So far this year, there have been five insider attacks on foreign forces. (More Afghanistan stories.)

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