Afghanistan: 2 NATO soldiers killed in apparent insider attack
Two gunmen in Afghan military uniforms opened fire on a vehicle carrying international troops in Helmand Province on Wednesday. It was the third reported 'green-on-blue' attack in Afghanistan this year.
Two gunmen in Afghan military uniforms opened fire on a vehicle carrying international troops in Helmand Province on Wednesday. It was the third reported 'green-on-blue' attack in Afghanistan this year.
Men in Afghan military uniforms shot and killed two NATO soldiers in the southern province of Helmand Wednesday,聽highlighting the roiling mistrust between Afghan and foreign troops since NATO formally ended its combat mission last December.
The two attackers opened fire on a vehicle carrying international troops before being killed by return fire, reports the Associated Press.
The attack took place at the former Camp Bastion, a NATO base handed over to Afghan forces last year, according to Reuters. NATO did not confirm the location of the attack nor reveal the nationality of the soldiers killed, according to聽a statement released Wednesday.
The motive for the killings are unclear as no group has claimed responsibility, the AP reports.
The attack comes just days after a major US-led airstrike in Helmand. The airstrike was intended聽to repel Taliban advancing on the strategic opium-growing town of Musa Qala. An estimated 37 militants were killed, according to Reuters, and聽the area remains restive.聽
The district governor, Mohammed Sharif, asked Monday for additional military support to stop the Taliban advance in the area.
"The Taliban are getting prepared to attack us from three directions tonight,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f we don't get support soon the district will collapse in Taliban hands.鈥�
So-called 鈥済reen on blue鈥� attacks 鈥� where Afghan forces turn on coalition troops, sometimes with Taliban support 鈥� have been a perennial feature of the decade-plus NATO presence in Afghanistan. This is the third such attack this year. Western officials say such killings are frequently attributable to personal or cultural misunderstandings and not explicit militant plots, according to Deutche Welle.
Helmand Province, a lucrative opium-growing region and Taliban stronghold, is a particularly volatile spot for foreign troops, Reuters reports. More than 400 British soldiers have died there 鈥� more than in any other province in the country 鈥� as well as more than 350 US Marines.