US General Killed by an Afghan Soldier

15 Other NATO Troops Wounded in Incident

US Major General Harold Greene was slain today in a green-on-blue attack at an Afghan training academy near Kabul. He is the highest ranked US soldier slain so far in the 13-year occupation.

Maj. Gen. Greene was shot at close range by an Afghan soldier, who also shot a large number of others, including a German Brigadier General. 15 overall NATO soldiers were reported wounded, mostly Americans.

So far Maj. Gen. Greene is the only confirmed fatality, though some reports have suggested others may have died in the incident. There was no indication of why the gunmen attacked them, though he has been confirmed to be a “vetted” Afghan soldier, and he was slain in the incident.

Green-on-blue insider attacks reached their apex in 2012, but dropped primarily as a function of less contact between NATO troops and Afghan forces. Green-on-green insider attacks among Afghan forces have continued to be a problem.

The Pentagon is downplaying the impact of the incident, saying there is no reason for it to impact trust between occupation forces and the Afghan military.

Underscoring the actual “trust” among edgy NATO troops leaving the academy, however, the AP reported that a NATO soldier opened fire toward reporters near the main gate as they were exiting. None were wounded.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.