According to officials, an Afghan policeman attacked and killed three other officers in the Balkh Province overnight Saturday. He looted all weapons and ammunition from the checkpoint and fled.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid confirmed the incident, saying that
the attacker had joined the Taliban since carrying out the insider
attack. The Balkh Province is not generally a high combat area.
This is fairly standard Taliban strategy, whether with infiltrators or
not, as overrunning and securing police checkpoints and outposts has
been a main source of weapons and vehicles for them for much of the war.
Insider attacks have become a mounting problem in recent years, as the
Afghan government recruits security forces with very little screening,
making it easy for infiltrators to get in, get access to arms, and get
out.
Afghan Policeman Kills Three Officers in Insider Attack
Attacker looted checkpoint, fled to join the Taliban
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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