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US Soldier Killed by Afghan in Army Uniform
A US soldier was killed in southern Afghanistan Wednesday when a man in an Afghan army uniform opened fire on the soldiers, killing one, before he was rubbed out in return fire.

"An individual wearing an Afghan National Army uniform turned his weapon against coalition service members in southern Afghanistan late yesterday, killing one service member," the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
-led Isaf said in a statement Thursday.

"The individual who opened fire was killed when coalition forces returned fire."

A US defense official, who declined to be named, told newswire AFP that the soldier was an American.

AFP reported that the official said the incident happened in Kandahar province, but provided no further details.

Isaf said an investigation is underway.

The shooting brings to 18 the number of foreign soldiers killed by Afghans in official uniform this year in 11 separate attacks.

The total number of foreign troops killed this year has reached 127.
Rooters adds:
An elite Afghan soldier rubbed out an American mentor and his translator at a U.S. base, Afghan officials said on Friday, in the first rogue shooting blamed on the country's new and closely vetted special forces.

The soldier shot up an American military base on Wednesday in Shah Wali Kot district, in volatile Kandahar province, said General Abdul Hamid, the commander of Afghan army forces in the Taliban's southern heartland.

"The shooting took place after a verbal conflict where the Afghan special forces soldier opened fire and killed an American special forces member and his translator," Hamid told Rooters.

The latest shooting will be of grave concern to both sides, at it is the first involving a member of Afghanistan's new special forces, who undergo rigorous vetting as part of their selection into the country's top anti-insurgent force.

NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
's top general in the country, U.S. Marine General John Allen, and Afghan Defence Minister General Abdul Rahim Wardak just this month signed an agreement for Afghan special troops to spearhead controversial night raids on Afghan homes, which are seen as one of the most potent anti-insurgent tactics.

Qari Yusef Ahmadi, a front man for the Afghan Taliban, grabbed credit for the attack in a phone text message sent to journalists, saying the Afghan soldier was "an beturbanned goon infiltrator called Zakerullah."

The claim could not immediately be corroborated, and the Taliban frequently claim responsibility for attacks by disgruntled Afghan soldiers.

Hamid said U.S. soldiers had immediately fired back and killed the gunman, as well as another Afghan special forces soldiers who was caught up in the ensuing crossfire.

But NATO commanders argue the growing number of shootings is in proportion to the growing size of Afghan cops toward an eventual 352,000 target.

Captain John Kirby, a Pentagon front man, said that though it was often impossible to determine the motives for such shootings, U.S. officials believed the majority of the attacks were driven by "personal grievances" rather than Taliban infiltration or inspiration.

"We are working hard with our Afghan counterparts to develop improvements to the overall vetting and recruitment process," Kirby said. He said NATO prevention efforts included education and protection measures.

"When we analyze the problem, it occurs for a number of reasons, and not as many as you would expect show any evidence of beturbanned goon initiation, or beturbanned goon backing," a senior NATO official who could not be identified said last week.

"Quite often people resolve their personal problems by resorting to the use of a weapon. It's more of a cultural thing here."
Posted by: 2012-04-28
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=343633