AFGHANISTAN: NATO Troops Slain by Afghan in Uniform

Not Again

A gunman dressed as an Afghan policeman has fired on coalition troops, killing six NATO service members, according to the Guardian and other press outlets. The shooting, reportedly by an Afghan border policeman who was also slain, took place in Nangarhar Province on the Pakistani border.

Reports say the gunman was wearing an Afghan Border Police uniform. (U.S. Air Force photo)

NATO is not identifying the nationality of the victims, although press reports say U.S. troops make up the majority of coalition forces in the area.

The Associated Press, quoting an Afghan official, reports the gunman was indeed a member of the Afghan Border Police, not an insurgent in disguise.

If that is true, Monday’s killings are the latest in a string of incidents where Afghan policemen or soldiers turned on their instructors or mission partners – going back to the fall of 2009. The incident occurred as NATO’s Training Mission in Afghanistan has been ramping up efforts to recruit, train, deploy and maintain thousands of Afghan police and soldiers with an eye toward turning over responsibility for security to Afghan forces by 2014.