An apparent insider attack by an Afghan soldier in the Shawalikot District of Kandahar Province left two US soldiers dead and the suspected attacker wounded. NATO confirmed the attack but it was only later that the US confirmed the slain were both Americans.
Afghan friendly fire incidents have been an ongoing problem throughout
the war, mostly causing casualties among Afghan forces. There have been
surges in casualties among US forces a few times in the war.
In the past, the US tried to reduce the number of US troops killed in
insider attacks by limiting direct contact with Afghan forces. Though
this generally did work, it also greatly reduced cooperation with
everyone else.
So far there has been no claim of credit in this insider attack. Other
recent attacks have seen Taliban officials claiming the attacker as one
of theirs, though with the attacker having been wounded but surviving,
they may not want to implicate him.
Afghan Insider Attack Kills Two US Soldiers in Kandahar
Afghan soldier opened fire on troops, killing two
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.
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