Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Afghan Soldier Goes Rogue, Uses RPG To Kill Three British Soldiers


In a stunning attack, an Afghan National Army soldier turned his RPG on his fellow NATO soldiers killing three British troops and injuring four others according to the updated report over at Breitbart.

From the story:



An army spokesman says an Afghan soldier working with international forces has killed three British troops with a rocket-propelled grenade.
Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zaher Azimi said Tuesday's early morning attack also wounded four other British troops.

He said the Afghan soldier escaped and is being sought.

President Hamid Karzai has expressed condolences and apologies for the attack. NATO commander Gen. David Petraeus has reiterated that Afghan and international forces must work together to fight the common enemy of Taliban insurgents.

This is just horrible. I'm sure there will be some sort of an investigation but I can't imagine there can be any other real reason other than this guy was secretly sympathetic to the Taliban or even a plant in the ANA. There are plenty of issues that have been documented about the ANA serving alongside NATO forces in the Afghanistan War from incompetence to drug use but this has to be one of the most deadly premeditated attacks I've seen. It's my feeling that if this guy was just a mental case or it had been some sort of fit of drug-induced anger, he would have either killed himself or been captured but the fact that he got away tells me it was a planned inside ambush.

My heart goes out to the British families of these soldiers.



Rogue Afghan soldier kills 3 British troops


KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - An army spokesman says an Afghan soldier working with international forces has killed three British troops with a rocket-propelled grenade.
Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zaher Azimi said Tuesday's early morning attack also wounded four other British troops.

He said the Afghan soldier escaped and is being sought.

President Hamid Karzai has expressed condolences and apologies for the attack. NATO commander Gen. David Petraeus has reiterated that Afghan and international forces must work together to fight the common enemy of Taliban insurgents.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP)—Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered an investigation into reports that Afghan forces fired on international troops Tuesday in the country's south, killing several coalition soldiers, a spokesman said.

Karzai also sent a letter to the British government offering an apology if initial reports were confirmed, a NATO official said.

It was not clear who was to blame for the deaths or whether the attack was the result of friendly fire or intentional.

Presidential spokesman Waheed Omar said Karzai was upset to hear initial reports that Afghan troops were responsible.

The international force earlier said in a statement that three of its service members died following an attack Tuesday in southern Afghanistan, but it provided few details.

Omar said Karzai has asked the defense minister to obtain more information about the attack and how it happened.

"If it is confirmed, it's a very unfortunate attack and the government of Afghanistan will do everything to make sure the proper traitors are brought to justice," Omar said.

Karzai sent a letter of condolences to Britain and NATO on Tuesday offering preliminary apologies, a senior NATO official said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information.

In November, a rogue Afghan policeman killed five British troops, underlining the difficulty in training the Afghan security forces who are hoped to take more responsibilities, allowing international forces to return home.

Britain is the largest contributor to NATO forces in Afghanistan after the United States.

1 comment:

Tim said...

The killer was from the Hazara tribe which was slaughtered by the Taliban whilst they were in power. This is a worrying development as they should be one of our strongest allies. Tim

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/bloodbath-at-patrol-base-3-leaves-afghan-strategy-in-doubt-2025981.html