Afghan Soldier Kills Two U.S. Troops
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan soldier shot and killed two American troops yesterday outside a top-security prison being revamped to house Afghans transferred from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, a U.S. military spokesman said.
The gunman was shot dead by other Afghan troops at Pul-e-Charkhi prison, some 20 miles east of Kabul, said Major Sheldon Smith, a spokesman for Combined Security Transition Command, which trains Afghan security forces. The shooter also wounded two U.S. soldiers.
The Americans were working as mentors to Afghan troops providing external security for the prison, Major Smith said. U.S. and Afghan authorities were trying to determine the motive for the attack, he said.
“All indications are” that the shooter was a member of the Afghan National Army, the post-Taliban force trained mainly by the American military, Major Smith said.
