Afghan soldiers attack US-led Nato forces
2012-11-10 20:02
Herat - Two Afghan soldiers attacked US-led Nato forces (ISAF) in western Afghanistan on Saturday, in the latest "insider" attack in the country, injuring one foreign soldier, ISAF said.
An ISAF spokesperson in Kabul said that the attack by two Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers occurred in Muqur district of Badghis province in the early hours of Saturday, which resulted in the injury of one Nato soldier and one attacker but no fatalities.
"Two ANA service members turned their weapons against ISAF forces in Badghis province. There was no fatalities, but one ISAF soldier was injured and one attacker was also wounded when ISAF troops returned fire. Both attackers were detained by ISAF and Afghan forces," the spokesperson said without giving more details.
A provincial spokesperson confirmed the incident but said that only one attacker, an ANA soldier who "was suffering from mental problems", was involved.
"The soldier who opened fire was suffering from mental problems, he was wounded when ISAF forces returned fire and later detained by Afghan and ISAF forces," provincial governor spokesman Sharafudin Majidi told AFP.
Shootings by Afghan forces have taken an increasing toll on Nato troops and have seriously undermined trust between Nato forces and their Afghan allies in the fight against hardline Islamist Taliban insurgents.
In the most recent previous attack a man in Afghan police uniform opened fire on Nato-led coalition forces in southern Helmand province on 30 October, killing two British soldiers.
The Afghan conflict has seen a surge in insider attacks this year, with more than 50 ISAF troops killed by their colleagues in the Afghan army and police.
There are presently around 100 000 US-led forces fighting alongside Afghan security forces against a Taliban-led insurgency that has been raging in the war-torn country since a US-led invasion toppled the hardline Islamist regime in late 2001.
Nato combat forces are scheduled to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
