ISLAMABAD – Two American troops were killed and six others wounded by anAfghan soldier armed with a machine gun, the US military confirmed onSunday.
The deaths come at a sensitive time in the 18-year-old war, with PresidentDonald Trump eager to bring troops home and end the longest conflict in UShistory.
The incident occurred late Saturday at a base in Sherzad district, inNangarhar province, eastern Afghanistan.
“Current reports indicate an individual in an Afghan uniform opened fire onthe combined US and Afghan force with a machine gun,” US Forces-Afghanistanspokesman Sonny Leggett said in a statement on Sunday.
Provincial governor Shah Mahmood Meyakhil said in an audio message toreporters that three Afghan commandos were wounded.
He said it was not immediately clear if the incident was a deliberate actby an “infiltrator” or an accident.“It was not a clash between the forces.We are investigating,” Meyakhil said.
Leggett also stressed the cause or motive behind the attack were notimmediately known.
In a tweet, the US Army’s 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) said“several” of its soldiers had been killed or injured during combatoperations in Afghanistan.
According to Sherzad resident Najeebullah — who goes by one name — gunfirecould be heard coming from an Afghan security forces base nearby lateSaturday followed by immediate air evacuations.
“We heard the sounds of gunfire and immediately helicopters landed insidethe base and evacuated the casualties,” added Najeebullah.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the incident.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid later declined to comment on theincident, saying in a message sent to *AFP* only that the insurgents were“investigating” the attack.
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Last year was the deadliest for US forces in Afghanistan since combatoperations officially finished at the end of 2014, highlighting thechallenging security situation that persists.
Depending on how one qualifies combat deaths, about 20 American troops werekilled in 2019. Since the US-led invasion in October 2001, about 2,400 UStroops have been killed in combat in Afghanistan.
In December, Taliban infiltrators in the Afghan military killedlink nine Afghan soldiers in centralAfghanistan.
In July, an Afghan soldier killedlinktwoUS troops as they were visiting an Afghan army base in Kandahar. Suchinsider attacks are sometimes called “green-on-blue” incidents.
That came two weeks after another Afghan soldier shot and killedlink an influential Afghan army colonelwhile he was conducting a security assessment in Ghazni province.
US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has been negotiating with the Taliban forabout 18 months for a deallinkthatwould see the Pentagon pull thousands of troops from Afghanistan.
In return, the Taliban would guarantee the country is not used as a safehaven for militants.
Many are sceptical of the proposed deal and Trump himself declared talks“dead” in September amid continued Taliban violence.
Negotiations have since resumed in Qatar. – APP / AFP
