A member of Nato's Afghan force and a civilian contractor have been killed in the latest so-called insider attack by a member of the Afghan security forces, Nato said today.
The attack in eastern Afghanistan yesterday came after the United States said joint operations with Afghan forces were returning to normal.
The soldier killed was a US citizen, according to a US official, which, if confirmed by Department of Defense, would bring US civilian and military deaths in Afghanistan to over 2,000.
The attack took place in the Sayed Abad district of the Wardak province, according to local police sources, who said a gun battle broke out between coalition soldiers and Afghans when an Afghan National Army member opened fire on US troops.
Three members of the Afghan National Army were also killed in the firefight, while three other US citizens and one Afghan were wounded, a police spokesman said today.
"We appreciate the sacrifice of our fallen heroes, every death is tragic and important - none more than any other," the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement following the attack.
Joint operations were halted two weeks ago after a surge of attacks by Afghan allies. At least 52 members of the Nato force have been killed this year in so-called green-on-blue attacks.
It was too early to say what impact the latest incident would have on plans to restore joint-operations with Afghan forces to normal, a spokesman for ISAF said.
Reuters