Afghan Policeman Kills Seven Colleagues in Uruzgan Province

Second Major 'Insider Attack' of the Past Two Days

Fresh off of yesterday’s high-profile “insider” attack, which saw a two-star US general slain by an Afghan soldier, another such incident has occurred, this time in the Uruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan.

A member of the Afghan national police attacked the other policemen at the checkpoint he was manning, killing seven others, seizing all of the weapons at the post and fleeing in a car.

The attacker, who was not named, was said to have “Taliban connections” by provincial officials, and has not been caught. In many cases, such incidents involve Taliban fighters infiltrating, conducting an attack of opportunity, and fleeing with arms.

The Taliban has yet to issue a statement on today’s attack, but did issue a statement on the slaying of the US general, praising the attacking soldier, but not claiming credit for the shooting. The attack in that incident was said to have been “carefully vetted,” and motive is unclear.

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.