Afghan Soldier Opens Fire On US Troops, Wounding Three

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Soldiers bound for Afghanistan stand at parade rest during a departure ceremony on November 4, 2011 in Fort Carson, Colorado. Some 250 medical soldiers from the U.S. Army 10th Combat Support Hospital are deploying to Afghanistan in the next two weeks. Military doctors, nurses, and medics from the unit will be sent to five forward operating bases across southern and western Afghanistan, tasked with saving the lives of wounded American, coalition and enemy wounded brought in from the battlefield. (Courtesy: John Moore/Getty Images)

(Saagar Enjeti, The Daily Caller News Foundation) – An Afghan Defense Force soldier opened fire on U.S. troops in Helmand province Sunday, wounding three.

An Afghan Army spokesman told CBSNews the Afghan soldier mistakenly fired on the U.S. service members. The U.S. mission in Afghanistan confirmed the action in a tweet, but did not clarify the motive.

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Insider attacks on Afghan and U.S. forces are a common method of attack in Afghanistan. “I think the signature attack that we’re beginning to see the– is going to be the insider attack,” then-Commander of all U.S. forces in Afghanistan Gen. John Allen told “60 Minutes” in 2012.

Two U.S. citizens, one a soldier the other a contractor, were shot dead in a similar insider attack in October 2016 in the city of Kabul.

The U.S. will be deploying nearly 300 Marines to Helmand province, which is increasingly under Taliban control. The U.S. mission in Afghanistan is to train advise and assist Afghan Security Forces.

 

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