Four US, Two British Soldiers Killed in Weekend Attacks by Afghan Police

Former Taliban Official Attributes Attacks to YouTube trailer

Four US soldiers were killed today in the Zabul Province when an Afghan policeman opened fire on them. Zabul police officials say the attacker was also killed in the incident, but gave no indication why he attacked in the first place.

It was the second “green-on-blue” attack of the weekend, after a Saturday attack in the Helmand Province. In that case the Afghan policeman feigned an injury and opened fire on British soldiers, killing two.

The weekend incidents bring the overall toll of “green-on-blue” attacks, which NATO is hoping to rebrand as “insider” attacks, to 51 for the year, with the vast majority of the slain US soldiers. This is by far the most such deaths since the war began in 2001.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has claimed credit for both attacks, as he always does, but former Taliban official Waheed Mujda, who is now a political analyst, speculated that the attacks were actually a result of the YouTube trailer for Innocence of Muslims, which has been causing major anti-US protests throughout the region.

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.