Two Gun Attacks in Afghanistan Kill 6 U.S. Troops
First an Afghan police officer killed three Marines, and later in the day a civilian employee shot three soldiers.
| Posted Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012, at 2:07 PM
Photograph by Jose Cabezas/AFP/Getty Images.
UPDATE: In less than 24 hours, six U.S. service members were killed by gun attacks in Afghanistan. Three Marines were shot dead by an Afghan worker on a military base in southern Afghanistan less than a day after an Afghan police commander killed three other Marines, reports Reuters. The man in the second attack was not wearing a uniform and it’s unclear how he got the weapon.
So far this year, there have been 25 attacks by Afghan forces on NATO troops, killing 34 people. Last year, there were 21 attacks that killed 35 people. Yet the figures do not fully reflect all the attacks since those carried out by Afghan employees or contractors are not included in the tally that exclusively keeps track of Afghan security forces.
A day after the six U.S. service members were killed, an Afghan police officer killed at least 10 of his fellow officers, reports the Associated Press. Although NATO officials insist the attacks do not reflect the Afghan security forces as a whole, they have managed to stoke mistrust an fear at a time when the U.S.-led coalition is pushing through a plan to train police officers and soldiers.
Friday, August 10 at 10:11 a.m.: A man wearing an Afghan security uniform shot and killed three American troops on Friday. It's the latest so-called "green-on-blue" attack by Afghan security forces on Western troops in the country.
If the gunman is confirmed as an actual security force member, it'll be the 24th such attack in 12 months, CBS News reports. The three slain soldiers were part of a U.S. Special Forces team charged with recruitment and training of local police. Sources told CBS that the gunman was one of the trainees, but ISAF hasn't confirmed that.
According to CNN, NATO is attempting to address the spate of attacks by members of Afghan forces by implementing a series of preventive systems, and working on new background checks for recruits. The attack took place in the volatile province of Helmand, but few more details have been confirmed as of Friday morning.
Eight Americans have died in Afghanistan this week.
