British Soldier Killed, Six Others Wounded in Afghan ‘Green-on-Blue’ Attack

Attack Took Place on Base in Helmand

Updating last night’s report of a “green-on-blue” attack on NATO soldiers in Afghanistan, it is now being reported that the victims were British soldiers, and that one was killed and six others, members of an engineering team, were wounded.

The incident took place at Camp Hazrat in the Helmand Province, and Afghan military officials say that several Afghan soldiers were also shot at during the incident, though none were apparently wounded.

The attacker was wearing an Afghan army uniform and appears to have been an Afghan soldier, but officials are still investigating his background to figure out if he was a Taliban infiltrator or if the attack was simply a product of discontent.

Green-on-blue attacks rose dramatically in 2012, and though this is the first of the new year, most analysts expect the trend will continue well into 2013, as the growing Afghan military continues to struggle with huge numbers of deserters and a lack of decent recruits.

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.