Afghan commando kills three US soldiers, Taliban claim responsibility for ‘insider attack’

US soldiers Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan. (Source: Reuters)

At least three US soldiers were killed and another wounded during an attack in eastern Afghanistan, according to US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. Earlier a local Afghan official was reported as saying that two US soldiers were killed and two others wounded during the shooting in Achin district, where US special forces have been fighting alongside Afghan troops against Islamic State and Taliban militants.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming that it was carried out by an infiltrator in the Afghan armed forces. “Today around noon an Afghan commando opened fire on US troops in Achin district, killing two American soldiers. The (Afghan) soldier was also killed in the return fire,” provincial spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP.

Meanwhile, NATO forces have declined to comment on the killings. “We are aware of an incident in eastern Afghanistan,” the US-led military coalition said in a brief statement. “We will release more information when appropriate,” it added.

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The so-called “green-on-blue” attacks, i.e. when Afghan soldiers or police turn their guns on international troops, have proved to be a major problem for NATO soldier fighting alongside Afghan forces.

The killings have further sparked fierce mistrust between locals and foreign forces in the region, even though the rate of such attacks has dropped in recent years.

With Agency Inputs