Afghan Policewoman Shoots American Contractor Dead In First Female "Green-on-Blue" Attack

 Afghan police stand guard outside the police compound where an Afghan policewoman shot dead a US military adviser



Just great...now we have females in the Afghan security forces that are shooting at and killing Americans - I figure with the lifetime of abuse and torture these Afghan women have endured, they would be turning their guns on Afghan men, not U.S. advisers and troops.


The story comes from The Telegraph.

Afghan policewoman shoots dead American in Kabul


An Afghan policewoman shot dead an American contractor in Kabul's police headquarters in what appeared to be the first insider attack by a female member of the local security forces.

The officer killed the contractor with a single shot from her service pistol, Afghan officials said, and her motive was not immediately clear.

The killing means around 60 troops and civilian workers have been shot dead by their allies this year, accounting for around one-in-seven of all international deaths in the Afghan campaign in 2012.

The police woman was arrested after the killing and was on Monday being questioned.

Mohammad Daoud Amin, Kabul's deputy police chief, told the AP news agency she was called Nargas and was a mother of four.

She had worked for a human rights department of the police for two years and was licensed to carry a pistol. He did not know if the killer and victim had known each other.

A statement from the Nato-led coalition said: "A contracted civilian employee of the [coalition] died after being shot by a woman wearing an Afghan police uniform in Kabul, Afghanistan today. The incident is currently under investigation."

While the Taliban claim many of the killings have been carried out by their supporters or infiltrators, Western commanders believe most have arisen from grievances or misunderstandings escalating into violence.

Afghan forces have suffered similar levels of insider attacks.

Also on Monday, police said an officer at a checkpoint in northern Afghanistan shot dead five of his colleagues and then joined the insurgents.

The gunman and victims were part of the Afghan Local Police (ALP), a US-backed community defence militia raised to guard villages against Taliban attacks.

Afghan Students Demand the Release of Afghan Soldier Who Killed Five French Troops

A serious twist to the aftermath of the "green on blue" attacks in Afghanistan where a group of Afghan students (there's an oxymoron for ya) are demanding the reprieve of an Afghan soldier who mowed down and killed five French troops in cold blood.  Now, this Afghan soldier has been convicted of his cowardly act and waits for his execution by hanging but you know me, I'm open to all sides of any argument.

Well, my answer to the students is this:  we'll release this Afghan soldier from custody on the edge of one of your desert areas, we'll give him 30 minutes to run to the creek bed a ways away.  We'll send in one A-10 to try and take him out before he reaches the creek bed.  If he reaches the creek bed, he is free...if he doesn't, well, you can have the bits and pieces left of him.

Deal?

The story comes from The Long War Journal.

Afghan students demand reprieve for green-on-blue killer


Yesterday some 500 university students gathered in Jalalabad, the capital of Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province, to protest the likely execution of an Afghan soldier convicted of murdering five NATO troops. The soldier's appeal was rejected by an Afghan court last week and he is said to be among a group of convicts soon to be executed by Afghan authorities.

According to AFP, the students blocked the main road leading to Kabul, chanted anti-US and anti-Israeli slogans, and burned US and Israeli flags in protest against the recent deaths of Palestinians in Gaza in clashes between the Israeli military and Gaza-based insurgent groups. The students also called on the NDS, Afghanistan's intelligence service, to prevent the execution. They blamed the NDS for the soldier's arrest, Khaama Press reported, and threatened further protests if their demands were not met by the Afghan government.

"We demand the president withdraw a decree that approves the execution of Abdul Sabor, the soldier who is accused of killing five French troops," the students said in a statement. They also called for a halt to the execution of Taliban prisoners by the Afghan government. Within the past week, the government has executed 14 death row prisoners, some of whom were Taliban, AFP reported.

One of the protesters, Inayatullah, warned that the execution of Sabor would lead to an uprising, according to Pajhwok Afghan News. The students, said to be from the Education Faculty, threatened to close Nangarhar University if Sabor is not reprieved.

They also demanded that a US soldier accused of killing 18 civilians in Kandahar be "brought to justice," Pajhwok reported. US Army Sergeant Robert Bales is currently awaiting results of a pretrial inquiry in a US military court on charges of killing 17 Afghan civilians; prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

On Jan. 20, Sabor, a soldier with the Afghan National Army in the eastern province of Kapisa, turned his gun on a group of French soldiers as they jogged on their base, killing four outright and wounding 15 others. According to AFP, a fifth French soldier later died of his wounds. Sabor was apprehended the day of the shooting. The attack prompted France to accelerate its withdrawal from Afghanistan. The French combat mission in Kapisa ended last week.

On July 17, a military court sentenced him to death by hanging.

Sabor is the first Afghan to be convicted of a green-on-blue, or insider, attack on Coalition troops by Afghan forces. Given the prevalence of such attacks in recent years -- with 42 attacks so far this year alone, resulting in 60 Coalition deaths -- yesterday's protest in Jalalabad does not bode well for the Afghan system of justice or the safety of Coalition soldiers in Afghanistan.

Horrendous Weekend For Green on Blue Attacks In Afghanistan

A real bad weekend for the green on blue attacks in Afghanistan as Spanish troops were fired upon by Afghan soldiers and then today an ISAF troop was killed by an Aghan soldier in Helmand province.

Regarding the attack on the Spanish troops via The Long War Journal:

Members of Afghanistan's security forces have yet again attacked Coalition personnel. This time, Spanish soldiers with the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Badghis province were the target of the green-on-blue, or insider attack, according to Pajhwok Afghan News:

The attacker and a 12-year-old boy were wounded in return fire from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops, who suffered no casualties in the latest "green-on-blue" assault.

A spokesman for the Badghis governor told Pajhwok Afghan News the insider attack took place at 10am in Maqur district, where the Spanish soldiers were inspecting reconstruction projects.

The International Security Assistance Force confirmed the incident, and said that two Afghan soldiers responsible for opening fire on the Spanish soldiers were detained. "There were no fatalities. ISAF service members returned fire, wounding one of the shooters. Both attackers are currently in ANA custody. ISAF and Afghan officials are assessing the incident," ISAF initially told Pajhwok Afghan News.

And in regards to the attack today that killed on ISAF troop, this also from The Long War Journal:

An Afghan National Army soldier killed a British trooper and wounded another in an insider, or "green-on-blue" attack, in Helmand province. Today's attack is the second of its kind in two days. There have been 42 reported insider attacks so far this year, resulting in the deaths of 60 Coalition soldiers and personnel.

Today's attack took place in the Nad Ali district in Helmand, Afghan provincial and military officials told TOLONews. The Afghan soldier "opened fire during a verbal clash," the news agency reported. The British troops returned fire and wounded the Afghan soldier.

The International Security Assistance Force confirmed the attack but would not release the nationality of the soldier who was killed.

Simply put, we cannot go a week or even a weekend with a new one of these green on blue attacks - it's getting worse before it's getting better.

Afghan soldiers attack Spanish troops in Badghis


Members of Afghanistan's security forces have yet again attacked Coalition personnel. This time, Spanish soldiers with the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Badghis province were the target of the green-on-blue, or insider attack, according to Pajhwok Afghan News:

The attacker and a 12-year-old boy were wounded in return fire from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops, who suffered no casualties in the latest "green-on-blue" assault.

A spokesman for the Badghis governor told Pajhwok Afghan News the insider attack took place at 10am in Maqur district, where the Spanish soldiers were inspecting reconstruction projects.

The International Security Assistance Force confirmed the incident, and said that two Afghan soldiers responsible for opening fire on the Spanish soldiers were detained. "There were no fatalities. ISAF service members returned fire, wounding one of the shooters. Both attackers are currently in ANA custody. ISAF and Afghan officials are assessing the incident," ISAF initially told Pajhwok Afghan News.

However, an ISAF public affairs officer later told The Long War Journal on Nov. 11 that "One Spanish soldier received minor injuries yesterday in Muqar district of Badghis province when two Afghan National Army service members attacked ISAF forces."

"The ISAF forces returned fire wounding one of the attackers," the ISAF officier continued. "The second attacker was taken into Afghan custody. The wounded Spanish service member has returned to duty."

The Taliban have not released a statement claiming credit for the attack in Badghis.

There have been 41 green-on-blue attacks reported so far this year, resulting in the deaths of 59 ISAF military and civilian personnel (note: ISAF does not disclose data on all such attacks; ISAF has told The Long War Journal that the overall number of attacks is "classified"). The green-on-blue attacks now account for more than 16 percent of ISAF's casualties so far this year. Last year, such attacks accounted for 6 percent of ISAF's casualties. In 2010, green-on-blue attacks made up just 2 percent of ISAF's casualties. See LWJ report, Green-on-blue attacks in Afghanistan: the data, for more information.

What? Green on GREEN Attack In Afghanistan? Four Afghan Police Killed By Own

Well, here's something we don't see every day - a group of five Afghan policemen turned on their own group of security officers and at the end of the firefight, four Afghan police were dead and six were wounded.

The story comes from The Long War Journal.

4 Afghan policemen killed in 'green-on-green' insider attack


A group of five Afghan policemen turned on their colleagues in the Gereshk district in the southern province of Helmand earlier today. Four policemen were killed and six more were wounded in the "green-on-green" attack. From Khaama Press:

Local authorities in Helmand province said the incident took place Thursday night in Gereshk district.

Gereshk district security chief Toryalai said, "At least four Afghan police officers were killed after five of their comrades opened fire on them around 10 pm on Thursday night."

Mr. Toryalai further added the five assailant police officers who were sent to assist the police officers and prevent Taliban attack on the check post, and managed to flee the area after killing their comrades.

He said the all the new police officers including the assailants and the victims were recently hired in Afghan police forces.

Afghan officials are attempting to determine if this incident was due to a disagreement, or if it was a Taliban insider attack.

The Taliban released a statement on the attack, and claimed the policemen joined the terror group after executing their comrades. From Voice of Jihad:

Reports arriving from Gereshk district state that a group of 6 police officers under the leadership of Commander Ismatullah turned their guns on other police inside a check post in Awpashak area.

The incident which occurred last night resulted in the death of 5 puppets while the commander and his men grabbed 6 Ak rifles, 1 Pk machine gun, 1 light machine gun and other equipment before safely joining up with nearby Mujahideen.

It is worth reminding that 3 days earlier, another infiltrator police officer (Atiqullah) turned his gun on British invaders, killing 3 on the spot before grabbing an enemy machine gun and joining up with Mujahideen in the same province's Babaji district.

There have been two green-on-blue attacks, where Afghan security forces attack Coalition personnel, in Gereshk since mid-September. On Oct. 30, an Afghan policeman shot and killed two British soldiers in the district before defecting to the Taliban. And on Sept. 15, a member of the Afghan Local Police opened fire on a group of British soldiers in the district, killing two soldiers and wounding two more. The attacker was killed in return fire from another British soldier. The Taliban claimed credit for both attacks.

While we haven't been tracking the green-on-green attacks as closely as we have tracked the green-on-blue incidents (the availability of data is sparse), on Sept. 30 The Associated Press reported that at least 53 members of the Afghan National Security Forces have been killed so far this year alone; it is likely that scores more have been wounded in the green-on-green attacks.

Another Green on Blue Attack - 2 British Soldiers Killed By Afghan Policeman in Helmand

G_d be with the families of the two British soldiers killed in the latest "green on blue" attack in Afghanistan.

This latest attack just bullet points how dire the situation has become as the number of friendly attacks has raised the death toll of coalition forces up through the roof this year.

The story comes from The Long War Journal.

Afghan policeman kills 2 British soldiers in Helmand


An Afghan policeman opened fire on Coalition soldiers operating in Helmand province earlier today, killing two British soldiers. Today's killing of Coalition forces marks the 40th green-on-blue, or insider attack, in Afghanistan that has been reported so far this year.

The International Security Assistance Force confirmed that two of its soldiers were killed in today's attack, but did not state the nationality of those killed or the location of the attack.

"An individual wearing the uniform of an Afghan policeman turned his weapon against International Security Assistance Force service members in southern Afghanistan today, killing two," the NATO command said in a press release. "The incident is currently under investigation."

Afghan officials said that the attack took place in Helmand province, and two British soldiers were killed, Pajhwok Afghan News reported. The Afghan policeman escaped after murdering the British soldiers.

Today's green-on-blue attack is the second thought to have occurred in Helmand province in the past week. On Oct. 24, a Royal Marine and a British female soldier on a foot patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province were shot dead by Afghan policemen in an incident that is currently under investigation. The Taliban, which have executed multiple insider attacks against Coalition forces, have also claimed the attack.

A significant number of the green-on-blue attacks have taken place in Helmand province, according to statistics maintained by The Long War Journal. More green-on-blue attacks have occurred in Helmand province than in any other of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. At least 17 of the 66 recorded attacks have taken place in Helmand since January 2008; and 32 of the 122 deaths have occurred in Helmand.

There have been 40 green-on-blue attacks reported so far this year, resulting in the deaths of 59 ISAF military and civilian personnel. The green-on-blue attacks now account for more than 16 percent of ISAF's casualties so far this year. Last year, such attacks accounted for 6 percent of ISAF's casualties. In 2010, green-on-blue attacks made up just 2 percent of ISAF's casualties. See LWJ report, Green-on-blue attacks in Afghanistan: the data, for more information.

Insider attacks a key part of Taliban strategy

Today's attack in Helmand province comes one week after Taliban emir Mullah Omar released an Eid al-Adha message that urged followers to "[i]increase Increase your efforts to expand the area of infiltration in the ranks of the enemy and to bring about better order and array in the work." The statement continued: "We call on the Afghans who still stand with the stooge regime to turn to full-fledged cooperation with their Mujahid people like courageous persons in order to protect national interests and to complete independence of the country. Jihadic activities inside the circle of the State militias are the most effective stratagem. Its dimension will see further expansion, organization and efficiency if God willing."

Omar had previously addressed the issue of green-on-blue attacks at length in a statement released on Aug. 16. Omar claimed that the Taliban "cleverly infiltrated in the ranks of the enemy according to the plan given to them last year," and urged government officials and security personnel to defect and join the Taliban as a matter of religious duty. He also noted that the Taliban have created the "Call and Guidance, Luring and Integration" department, "with branches ... now operational all over the country," to encourage defections. [See Threat Matrix report, Mullah Omar addresses green-on-blue attacks.]

As insider attacks continue to spike, Coalition officials are starting to acknowledge that the Taliban are behind a larger proportion of the attacks, and ISAF has intensified its efforts against the perpetrators. Many of the attackers appear to come from the eastern Afghan provinces, a BBC reporter wrote in September, where Taliban influence is prevalent. And in early October, ISAF commanders admitted that attackers from Pakistan with links to the Taliban and its subgroup, the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network, were significantly involved in the attacks, the Associated Press reported.

Green on Blue Attacks Rear Their Ugly Heads Yet Again...2 U.S. Troops and 2 British Troops Killed by Afghan Policemen in Two Incidents

Many of you heard my broadcast on BTR of "Green on Blue...The Fallen" - unfortunately we have two more U.S. troops to add to the list for 2012 as two U.S. soldiers were gunned down today by Afghan police and in a separate incident, two British troops were also killed by "friendly" Afghan cops.

:Hangs head:

The story comes from The Long War Journal.

Insider attacks continue in Uruzgan and Helmand


The latest in the continuing series of insider, or green-on-blue, attacks by Afghan forces on Coalition forces took place this morning in Uruzgan province, when an Afghan policeman shot and killed two US troops at a police headquarters in Khas Uruzgan. This year alone has already seen at least 39 such attacks, and they now account for nearly 16% of Coalition casualties. [For detailed information on the insider attacks, see LWJ special report, Green-on-blue attacks in Afghanistan: the data.]

Today's International Security Assistance Force press release on the incident stated simply that "[t]wo U.S. Forces -Afghanistan service members died after an individual wearing an Afghan National Police uniform turned his weapon against them in Khas Uruzgan, Uruzgan," and noted that the incident is under investigation.

The attacker was "a trusted member" of the police force, according to Afghan officials. TOLONews reported that the officer had been on the force for "some months."

A local police official told Pajhwok News that "the foreign soldiers were at the police headquarters to attend a meeting with local officials."

Pajhwok also reported that the attacker escaped after the shooting and is being sought by the police.

The two slain US soldiers were likely members of the special forces. US Forces-Afghanistan personnel include US special operations forces troops, and are used to serve as advisers to the Afghan Local Police as well as conduct the targeted "night raids" against key nodes of the various terror groups operating in Afghanistan.

Just last week, on Oct. 18, the US military transitioned Coalition command authority for Uruzgan province, where today's attack occurred, from the Indiana National Guard's 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team to Australian army leadership. The ISAF press release called the transition "a milestone in the gradual transfer to full Afghan control of the region," in which the Coalition's Uruzgan team moves from a mentorship to an advisory relationship with the Afghan National Security Force. "The team regularly conducts partnered operations with the Afghan National Army's 4th Brigade of the 205th Hero Corps and Uruzgan's Afghan National Police," the statement noted.

Another suspected insider attack in Helmand province

On Oct. 24, a Royal Marine and a British female soldier on a foot patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province were shot dead by Afghan policemen in an incident that is currently under investigation, The Telegraph reports. There are conflicting accounts of the incident.

According to The Times, the NATO troops shot first at an Afghan policeman out of uniform, thinking he was an insurgent, and Afghan policemen returned fire in the mistaken belief they were under attack. The Ministry of Defence said that the circumstances of the attack were unclear, but stated that the UK forces "were not working with any Afghan partners" at the time of the attack. The Telegraph further notes that although the two UK solders were first reported as having been killed by insurgents, other reports had emerged suggesting it was an insider attack. And in yet another twist on the story, Khaama Press reported that the two soldiers were killed by "friendly fire."

The Taliban have also claimed the attack. According to statistics maintained by The Long War Journal, more green-on-blue attacks have occurred in Helmand province than in any other of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. At least 16 such attacks have take place in Helmand since January 2008.

Insider attacks a key part of Taliban strategy

Today's attack in Uruzgan province comes one day after Taliban emir Mullah Omar released an Eid al-Adha message that urged followers to "[i]increase Increase your efforts to expand the area of infiltration in the ranks of the enemy and to bring about better order and array in the work." The statement continued: "We call on the Afghans who still stand with the stooge regime to turn to full-fledged cooperation with their Mujahid people like courageous persons in order to protect national interests and to complete independence of the country. Jihadic activities inside the circle of the State militias are the most effective stratagem. Its dimension will see further expansion, organization and efficiency if God willing."

Omar had previously addressed the issue of green-on-blue attacks at length in a statement released on Aug. 16. Omar claimed that the Taliban "cleverly infiltrated in the ranks of the enemy according to the plan given to them last year," and urged government officials and security personnel to defect and join the Taliban as a matter of religious duty. He also noted that the Taliban have created the "Call and Guidance, Luring and Integration" department, "with branches ... now operational all over the country," to encourage defections. [See Threat Matrix report, Mullah Omar addresses green-on-blue attacks.]

As insider attacks continue to spike, Coalition officials are starting to acknowledge that the Taliban are behind a larger proportion of the attacks, and ISAF has intensified its efforts against the perpetrators. Many of the attackers appear to come from the eastern Afghan provinces, a BBC reporter wrote in September, where Taliban influence is prevalent. And in early October, ISAF commanders admitted that attackers from Pakistan with links to the Taliban and its subgroup, the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network, were significantly involved in the attacks, the Associated Press reported.

Green on Blue Attack In Kandahar Kills American Soldier, Former U.S. Military Officer and 4 Afghans

A devastating "green on blue" attack Saturday in Kandahar, Afghanistan where a member of the Afghan intelligence services detonated a suicide vest in an office building - the attack killed a U.S. soldier and a former military officer who was working for Hillary Clinton's State Department.

From the article at The Long War Journal:

In the first fatal green-on-blue, or insider, attack by an employee of Afghanistan's intelligence service this year, a uniformed member of the National Directorate of Security detonated a suicide vest at a district office in Kandahar province on Saturday, killing an American soldier and a former US military officer as well as four Afghans. [For detailed information on the insider attacks, see LWJ special report, Green-on-blue attacks in Afghanistan: the data.]

The attack took place as Coalition and Afghan intelligence personnel were delivering new furniture to an NDS office in the remote Maruf district of eastern Kandahar province, according to The New York Times.

Killed in the attack were US Army Spc. Brittany B. Gordon, of St. Petersburg, Fla., and Dario Lorenzetti, of Fort Worth, Tex., a former US military officer now serving with the US State Department in Afghanistan. The number of wounded was not reported.

According to the New York Times, the bombing also killed Ghulam Rasool, the deputy intelligence director for Kandahar province, along with two of his bodyguards and another NDS employee.

This is incredibly difficult to put this post up so soon after I did my BTR show last weekend on the very subject of "Green on Blue" - that episode...."Green on Blue" ...The Fallen .... focused on those that we have lost in 2012 to these insider attacks and this new incident just proves that there's going to be more names to read by the end of the year.  Heartbreaking.

Insider attack by Afghan intelligence employee kills 6 in Kandahar


In the first fatal green-on-blue, or insider, attack by an employee of Afghanistan's intelligence service this year, a uniformed member of the National Directorate of Security detonated a suicide vest at a district office in Kandahar province on Saturday, killing an American soldier and a former US military officer as well as four Afghans. [For detailed information on the insider attacks, see LWJ special report, Green-on-blue attacks in Afghanistan: the data.]

The attack took place as Coalition and Afghan intelligence personnel were delivering new furniture to an NDS office in the remote Maruf district of eastern Kandahar province, according to The New York Times.

Killed in the attack were US Army Spc. Brittany B. Gordon, of St. Petersburg, Fla., and Dario Lorenzetti, of Fort Worth, Tex., a former US military officer now serving with the US State Department in Afghanistan. The number of wounded was not reported.

According to the New York Times, the bombing also killed Ghulam Rasool, the deputy intelligence director for Kandahar province, along with two of his bodyguards and another NDS employee.

In the view of the Maruf district chief, the suicide bomber, a local man named Abdul Wali from Zirak, thought he was attacking an Afghan delegation and was unaware that Coalition members were present, the New York Times noted. A NATO official concurred, saying "[i]t was an N.D.S. attack on N.D.S., and we happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

An Afghan official said, however, that the attacker, who had worked for eight years at the NDS, "knew that a delegation including coalition officials was visiting from Kandahar city," according to Dawn. "He set himself off as he met the Afghan and coalition delegation getting off from a helicopter," he said. Dawn also reported that the bomber had moved his wife and children to Pakistan the week before the attack.

Following the attack, a brother of one of the slain Afghans took revenge, killing the suicide bomber's 9-year-old brother in front of his parents.

Shafiqullah Tahiri, a spokesman for the NDS, denied that the attacker was an employee of the NDS, and claimed instead that the bombing "was carried out by an individual who had disguised himself in Afghan intelligence forces uniform." As reported by Khaama Press,, Tahiri also denied that NDS officers had been involved in such attacks in the past. However, the Khaama report notes, "an Afghan intelligence official speaking on the condition of anonymity said the attack was carried out by a member of the Afghan intelligence, which was also confirmed by NATO-led coalition officials."

Today the Afghan Interior Ministry issued a directive to police across the country to be vigilant against attempts to infiltrate Afghan security forces, ToloNews reported.

ISAF stepping up raids against insider attack planners

As insider attacks continue to spike, Coalition officials are starting to acknowledge that the Taliban are behind a larger proportion of the attacks, and ISAF has intensified its efforts against the perpetrators. Many of the attackers appear to come from the eastern Afghan provinces, a BBC reporter wrote in September, where Taliban influence is prevalent. And in early October, ISAF commanders admitted that attackers from Pakistan with links to the Taliban and its subgroup, the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network, were significantly involved in the attacks, the Associated Press reported.

Today ISAF announced that it had arrested a Taliban leader in Nangarhar province who "commanded Taliban fighters, and is directly associated with facilitating the movement and escape of an insider-attack shooter across Afghan borders." According to the ISAF press release, a number of suspected insurgents were detained and multiple weapons and mortar components were seized in the raid.

On Sept. 21, ISAF captured two "insider attack planners" during a raid in the eastern province of Logar. The detained insurgents were known facilitators for the insider attacks in the province, and at the time of their capture were involved in " were in the advanced stages of preparing for a strike against a coalition base, which included ... the attempted infiltration of Afghan security forces."

On Sept. 15, ISAF killed a green-on-blue attacker named Mahmood and "more than a dozen armed insurgents" in an airstrike in the Bar Kunar district of Kunar province. Mahmood executed the May 11 insider attack in Kunar that resulted in the death of one US soldier; two other soldiers were wounded. Mahmood fled to the Taliban, and on Aug. 7 the Taliban released a video showing him being welcomed as a hero [see Threat Matrix report, Observations on Taliban video 'welcoming' rogue ANA soldiers].

And on Aug. 30, security forces arrested a Taliban fighter wanted for killing two British ISAF members in a green-on-blue attack on May 13 in southern Helmand province. He was attempting to join the Afghan National Army at the time of his capture (he was a member of the Afghan National Police when he killed the British troops).

Afghan Police Officer Turns Gun On U.S. Troops, 4 American Troops Killed At Checkpoint

Here we go again...as yet another "green on blue" attack has occurred in Afghanistan where an Afghan policeman (or poser in an Afghan police uniform) turned his weapon on U.S. troops at a checkpoint battle and killed four of our troops.

From the article at Fox News:

Four American service members were killed Sunday after a man in an Afghan police officer uniform turned his gun and started firing at a remote checkpoint in southern Afghanistan, a U.S. official tells Fox News.

Afghan officials said the checkpoint in Zabul province's Mizan district came under attack first from insurgents sometime around midnight. American forces came to help the Afghan police respond to the attack, said Ghulam Gilani, the deputy police chief of the province.

It was not clear if some of the Afghan police turned on their American helpers in the middle of the battle with the insurgents, or afterward, or were somehow forced into attacking the American troops by the insurgents, Gilani said.

Now, the Taliban are not taking credit for this but that certainly doesn't mean they aren't lying about it.  But this is horrendous - I have no idea how in the world our troops can monitor the Afghan police in these scenarios ...perhaps we can have a handle on ANA troops but when you throw police into the mix, it's gotta be nearly impossible.

Afghan inside attack kills 4 US troops, official says


Four American service members were killed Sunday after a man in an Afghan police officer uniform turned his gun and started firing at a remote checkpoint in southern Afghanistan, a U.S. official tells Fox News.

Afghan officials said the checkpoint in Zabul province's Mizan district came under attack first from insurgents sometime around midnight. American forces came to help the Afghan police respond to the attack, said Ghulam Gilani, the deputy police chief of the province.

It was not clear if some of the Afghan police turned on their American helpers in the middle of the battle with the insurgents, or afterward, or were somehow forced into attacking the American troops by the insurgents, Gilani said.

"The checkpoint was attacked last night. Then the police started fighting with the Americans. Whether they attacked the Americans willingly we don't know," Gilani said.

Details of the attack were slow to come out because it took place in a remote area, said Graybeal, the NATO forces spokesman.

"The attack took place in the vicinity of an outpost in southern Afghanistan. It is my understanding that it was a checkpoint," Graybeal said. International forces often work with Afghan police to man checkpoints as part of the effort to train and mentor the Afghan forces so that they can eventually operate on their own. The goal is to turn over all security responsibility for the country to the Afghans by the end of 2014, though numbers of NATO forces have already been reduced in many areas.

Graybeal said one police officer was killed in the clash but that the other officers at the site fled and it was unclear if they were involved in the attack or not.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said the police who attacked were not affiliated with the Taliban insurgency.

"But they are Afghans and they know that Americans are our enemy," Ahmadi told The Associated Press. In an emailed statement, he said the police who fled have joined up with the insurgency.

The coalition said in a statement that they were investigating what happened.

So far this year, 51 international service members have died at the hands of Afghan soldiers or policemen or insurgents wearing their uniforms. At least 12 such attacks came in August alone, leaving 15 dead.

The checkpoint attack was the third attack by Afghan forces or insurgents disguised in military uniforms against international forces in as many days, killing eight troops in all.

Recent months have seen a string of such insider attacks by Afghan forces against their international counterparts. The killings have imperiled the military partnership between Kabul and NATO, a working relationship that is key to the handover of security responsibilities to Afghan forces as international troops draw down.

Meanwhile, according to Afghan officials, airstrikes by NATO planes killed eight women and girls in another remote part of the country, fueling a long-standing grievance against a tactic used by international forces that Afghans say causes excessive civilian casualties.

Villagers from a remote part of Laghman province's Alingar district drove the bodies to the provincial capital, claiming they were killed by NATO aircraft while they were out gathering firewood before dawn.

"They were shouting 'Death to America!' They were condemning the attack," said Laghman provincial government spokesman Sarhadi Zewak.

Four bodies, covered in blankets, were seen by an Associated Press journalist at the governor's office in the provincial capital, Mehterlam.

Seven injured females were also brought to area hospitals for treatment, some of them as young as 10 years old, said provincial health director Latif Qayumi.

NATO forces said that the strike killed a large number of insurgents — as many as 45 — but may have also killed civilians.

There may have been five to eight Afghan civilians killed in the strike, said Capt. Dan Einert, a spokesman for international forces in Afghanistan. He said they were still investigating the report.

"Protecting Afghan lives is the cornerstone of our mission and it saddens us when we learn that our action might have unintentionally harmed civilians," said Jamie Graybeal, another spokesman for the international military in Afghanistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai "strongly condemns the airstrike by NATO forces which resulted in the deaths of eight women," a statement from his office said. It said the Afghan government was also investigating.

On Saturday, a gunman in the uniform of a government-backed militia force shot dead two British soldiers in Helmand district in the southwest.

Britain's defense minister said the two soldiers, from 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment, were killed at a checkpoint shooting in Nahri Sarraj district of Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban have their strongest roots. NATO said earlier that the gunman was wearing a uniform used by the Afghan Local Police, a village-level fighting force overseen by the central government.

That strike came a day after insurgents wearing U.S. Army uniforms attacked a military base, killing two American Marines, wounding nine other people and destroying six Harrier fighter jets, military officials said. Fourteen insurgents were killed. The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack and said that it was revenge for the video insulting Prophet Muhammad.

In the capital on Sunday, several hundred university students chanted "Death to America!" and "Long life to Islam!" over several hours to protest the video. Riot police cordoned off the area and the protest ended without incident in the early afternoon. A smaller protest went forward in the western city of Herat.

Two More Coalition Troops Killed In Cold Blood By An Afghan Soldier, Green-on-Blue Rears Its Head Again

The word is that two ISAF troops were killed by an Afghan (ANA) soldier today when he turned his weapon on them - we don't know the nationality of the two killed at this point but this is just another green-on-blue attack that have soared in recent months.

The million dollar question is this an Afghan soldier that just got pissed off or was this a Taliban plant?  The Afghan soldier was gunned down and killed by ISAF troops so he won't be talking but I'm damn curious if he is Taliban, a convert to the Taliban or just doped up Afghan piece of shit.

The story is from The Long War Journal.

Afghan soldier kills 2 ISAF troops in east


An Afghan soldier opened fire on Coalition soldiers in eastern Afghanistan, killing two of them before being killed himself in return fire. The attack is the latest in a string of so-called green-on-blue incidents, or insider attacks, in which Afghan security personnel kill members of the International Security Assistance Force.

ISAF said that two troops were killed after "a member of the Afghan National Army turned his weapon against ISAF service members in eastern Afghanistan today."

"ISAF troops returned fire, killing the ANA soldier who committed the attack," according to a press release. "Afghan and ISAF officials are investigating the incident."

The attack took place in the eastern province of Laghman, according to AFP.

Attacks by Afghan forces on Coalition forces have skyrocketed this year. In the first eight months of this year, the number of green-on-blue attacks (28) has doubled last year's total of 14.

Attacks that resulted in deaths of ISAF troops have also surged; they account for 13% of Coalition casualties so far this year. In 2011, green-on-blue attacks accounted for 6%; in 2010, 3%; in 2009, 2%; and in 2008, less than 1%. [For more details and statistics on the green-on-blue attacks, see LWJ Special Report, Green-on-blue attacks in Afghanistan: the data.]

ISAF commanders have insisted that most of the attacks are due to cultural differences between Afghan and Western troops. General John Allen, the commander of ISAF, even blamed the spike on Afghans being hungry and irritable due to fasting during Ramadan.

In seeking to account for the rise in insider attacks, ISAF commanders have downplayed the role of Taliban infiltration. Commanders have issued conflicting estimates of the percentage of attacks caused by Taliban infiltration and coercion, ranging from 10% to 25% in recent weeks, to 50% earlier this year.

The Taliban have seized on the green-on-blue attacks in their propaganda, and routinely claim each attack to be a result of infiltration. In early August, the Taliban released a video of two Afghan soldiers who attacked ISAF soldiers in Kunar and Uruzgan [see Threat Matrix report, Observations on Taliban video 'welcoming' rogue ANA soldiers].

Mullah Omar, the leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, or the Taliban, addressed the issue of green-on-blue attacks in a statement released on Aug. 16. Omar claimed that the Taliban "cleverly infiltrated in the ranks of the enemy according to the plan given to them last year," and urged government officials and security personnel to defect and join the Taliban as a matter of religious duty. He also noted that the Taliban have created the "Call and Guidance, Luring and Integration" department, "with branches ... now operational all over the country," to encourage defections. [See Threat Matrix report, Mullah Omar addresses green-on-blue attacks.]

Yet ANOTHER Green on Blue Attack On NATO Troops - Afghan Policeman Opens Fire Wounding Two NATO Troops

First off, it appears that the two wounded NATO troops are going to turn out to be Americans based upon the locale of this shooting.  But again, we have another "green on blue" attack where an Afghan policeman has opened fire on NATO/American troops - and once again, this piece of shit got away like the last one.  Luckily, two were wounded and none were killed in the cowardly act.

The story comes from DAWN.

Afghan policeman fires on Nato allies, wounds two: officials


JALALABAD: An Afghan policeman wounded at least two foreign soldiers when he opened fire on troops from the US-led Nato mission on Monday, officials said, adding to a spike in such attacks.

The shooting took place in Achin, a remote district in the eastern province of Nangarhar, local police chief Abdullah Azim Stanikzai told AFP. Nato confirmed the incident but gave no details.

The majority of Nato troops in Nangarhar are American.

The shooter escaped unhurt but an Afghan intelligence officer was wounded when coalition soldiers returned fire, Stanikzai added.

Seven soldiers of the US-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) lost their lives over four days last week when Afghan forces turned weapons on their Nato allies.

According to Nato, 37 of its soldiers have died in 27 such attacks so far this year, up from 21 incidents and 35 deaths in all of 2011.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack and said the gunman was with the militia. “He’s a brave Afghan. He’s with us,” Mujahid told AFP by telephone.

Stanikzai said the policeman had just returned from leave.

“He was on vacation but had just returned to duty. He grabbed a weapon from a colleague and opened fire,” he added. He said a hunt to arrest him was under way.

An Isaf spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Hagen Messer, said “a man wearing civilian clothes fired at ISAF-ANSF troops”, using the acronym for Afghan security forces.

“The shooter was a member of the Afghan uniform police,” Messer said, confirming the injuries.

Although the Taliban often claim credit, Afghan and Western officials say most attacks are motivated by cultural differences between troops fighting the Taliban side by side.

Known as “green on blue”, there has been a dramatic spike in such attacks in recent months.

On Friday, two such incidents killed six Americans in the southern province of Helmand. One of the shooters was a man in police uniform and the other a civilian staff member on a joint Afghan-Nato base.