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| Afghanistan |
| Afghan policeman kills NATO soldiers, protests continue |
| 2011-04-04 |
| A "rogue" Afghan border policeman shot dead two foreign soldiers on a training mission on Monday, and hundreds of people turned out on the streets for a fourth day of protests against the burning of a Koran by a fundamentalist U.S. pastor. The shooting in Faryab of two foreign soldiers who were training Afghan police highlighted another challenge for U.S. and NATO forces as they try to prepare for a gradual handover of security responsibilities that begins in July. Abdul Sattar Bariz, deputy governor of northern Faryab province, said two American soldiers were killed at a checkpoint by a member of the Afghan Border Police, in what appeared to be the latest in a string of "rogue" shootings. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said on Monday it was investigating the deaths of two soldiers who were killed inside a base by an attacker who appeared to be from the Afghan police force. "According to initial reporting, an individual in an Afghan Border Police uniform fired on the ISAF members inside a compound. The individual who fired the shots fled the scene," an ISAF statement said. |
| Posted by:Zebulon Thranter9685 |
| #3 According to the Telegraph, the troops were Americans, and they were teaching new Afghan police recruits. Abdul Sattar Bariz, the deputy governor of the northern province of Faryab, said the two soldiers were killed at border check post where they were instructing newly recruited Afghan police personnel. There were, however, conflicting accounts of who the perpetrator might have been. The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force said it was investigating the shooting, which it said was carried out by "an individual in an Afghan Border Police uniform." But General Habib Sayedkhel, a senior border police official, said the shots that killed the soldiers were fired from a nearby house. "After the shooting the soldier jumped down and ran away to save his life," he said. "There was no evidence that he killed the Americans." For perspective, Fears have been mounting that rapid recruitment into the Afghan security forces, which are due to be boosted to at least 305,000 before western troops withdraw from Afghanistan, has allowed the Taliban to infiltrate sympathisers into the police and army. Afghan authorities began tighter vetting of recruits after a renegade soldier killed five British troops in 2009, but at least a dozen instructors have been killed in similar incidents over the past year. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2011-04-04 21:30 |
| #2 Silly rabbit. Having a round in the chamber could lead to an accidental discharge causing the chain of command to do a lot of paperwork and CYA. There is less problem simply allowing the enemy to cap a couple of your own guys than all that crap. Since no one has been fired or drawn and quartered for prior such shootings why change behavior. Heck you can walk into a personnel prep assembly in a US base and cap a dozen - who's fired? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2011-04-04 20:43 |
| #1 According to initial reporting, an individual in an Afghan Border Police uniform fired on the ISAF members inside a compound. Are GI's inside these compounds armed? And when I say armed, I mean with a round in the chamber. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2011-04-04 17:00 |