An Afghan soldier opened fire on US troops in the Paktia capital city of Sharana today, hitting two soldiers and killing at least one of them. The Taliban claimed credit for the attack, which occurred near Operating Base Rushmore.
US and Afghan officials offered scant details on the incident, confirming only that the attacker “hadn’t been killed” in the attack, but declining to say whether he was captured or if he’d managed to escape.
It is the fourth insider attack reported in Afghanistan in less than a month, a flurry of incidents after a few months of relative calm had officials suggesting the problem of such attacks had more or less subsided.
In reality, the attacks continued apace through the summer as well, but instead of “green-on-blue” attacks they were green-on-green attacks, with Taliban infiltrators or defectors targeting other Afghan security forces in record numbers. Reduced US patrols have made them less available and consequently, less often the target.
12 U.S. dead in Afghanistan in the last month. That's a lot for a dwindling force now often only back up to Afghan army and police. Some very large clashes reported recently in Afghanistan @ icasualties with dozens of Taliban reported killed in three separate incidents.