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Rogue Afghan soldier kills 3 British troops
A rogue Afghan soldier fired a rocket-propelled grenade into a group of international forces early Tuesday, killing three British troops, before fleeing, a military spokesman said. Four others were wounded.It was the second time in eight months that an Afghan killed British troops working with local security forces. In November, an Afghan policeman killed five British soldiers at a checkpoint also in southern Helmand province, where Tuesday's attack happened. President Hamid Karzai quickly sent a letter of apology to the British government. Gen. David Petraeus, the commander NATO forces in Afghanistan, called for unity among international troops and the Afghan soldiers in the fight against the Taliban. Such intentional attacks are rare, but emphasize the difficulties in rapidly expanding the Afghan forces to take over responsibility for security from international troops. Critics have said a rushed schedule aimed at allowing U.S. forces to begin drawing down by next year makes it difficult to screen out insurgent sympathizers and also to properly train up Afghan forces in military discipline. The renegade Afghan soldier used a shoulder-mounted launcher to fire a grenade at British soldiers at around 2 a.m., Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zaher Azimi said. The soldier escaped and is being sought, he said, adding that the motive of the attack was not yet clear. A joint coalition-Afghan team is investigating. Posted by: tipper 2010-07-13 |
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