U.S. says Afghan police officer carried out attack that killed U.S. soldier
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 4 September 2018 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, U.S. says Afghan police officer carried out attack that killed U.S. soldier, 4 September 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5bc053593.html [accessed 29 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
September 04, 2018 19:11 GMT
By RFE/RL
An attack that killed one American soldier in eastern Afghanistan this week was carried out by a member of the Afghan national police, a U.S. official says.
A spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Lieutenant Colonel Martin O'Donnell, said on September 4 that the shooter fled scene after the attack but was later apprehended by Afghans.
When the NATO-led Resolute Support mission announced the September 3 attack, it said that a U.S. service member was killed in an "apparent insider attack."
It also said that the soldier who died was the sixth American to be killed in the country this year.
The soldiers's name has not yet been made public.
O'Donnell said the wounds sustained by another U.S. service member in the attack were not life threatening.
Insider attacks, in which members of Afghan security forces or assailants dressed in Afghan uniforms fire on coalition troops, have become less common in recent years but remain a persistent worry.
The September 4 attack came nearly two months after a member of a U.S. Army training unit was shot dead by an Afghan soldier in the southern province of Oruzgan.
Two other U.S. soldiers were wounded in that attack.
Around 14,000 U.S. troops are currently stationed in Afghanistan, where the Western-backed government in Kabul has been struggling to fend off the Taliban and other militant groups.
Separately, NATO military headquarters in Kabul announced that a U.S. service member died in a "noncombat-related incident" in eastern Afghanistan on September 4.
A statement said the incident was under investigation.
It did not give the identity of the soldier.
With reporting by AP and Reuters
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
