Afghan Policeman Kills Three NATO Soldiers

18 Such Shootings Have Killed 26 NATO Soldiers This Year

As NATO continues to insist that its relationship with Afghan forces is tense but “manageable,” another member of the Afghan National Police has opened fire on NATO forces in the country, killing three.

Details of this evening’s shooting are light so far, with NATO spokesmen saying only that it happened in “southern Afghanistan” at some time after 5:00 pm. The attacker, a member of the riot control group the Afghan Civil Order Police, was captured after the shooting.

NATO officials say that the details of the shooting are still under investigation, and they also have declined so far to release the nationalities of the slain soldiers. Though some past shootings have been by Taliban “infiltrators” into the police, the majority have been the result of arguments between the Afghans and the occupation forces.

The Pentagon has repeatedly tried to downplay the significance of such shootings, with officials saying that the “huge majority” of Afghan forces don’t end up shooting NATO soldiers, and insisting that the Afghan government is screening better for infiltrators. Such incidents are continuing with such regularity, however, that the claims will be difficult to credibly maintain.

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.