An apparent insider attack by an Afghan soldier in the Shawalikot District of Kandahar Province left two US soldiers dead and the suspected attacker wounded. NATO confirmed the attack but it was only later that the US confirmed the slain were both Americans.



Afghan friendly fire incidents have been an ongoing problem throughout the war, mostly causing casualties among Afghan forces. There have been surges in casualties among US forces a few times in the war.



In the past, the US tried to reduce the number of US troops killed in insider attacks by limiting direct contact with Afghan forces. Though this generally did work, it also greatly reduced cooperation with everyone else.



So far there has been no claim of credit in this insider attack. Other recent attacks have seen Taliban officials claiming the attacker as one of theirs, though with the attacker having been wounded but surviving, they may not want to implicate him.





Author: Jason Ditz Jason Ditz is news editor of Antiwar.com. View all posts by Jason Ditz