Two Americans, a soldier and a civilian contractor, may be the latest casualties of a “green-on-blue” killing, when they were fatally shot in Afghanistan’s Wardak Province on Saturday, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Three Afghan soldiers also died in the clash, which erupted at a checkpoint.
Wardak’s police chief, Gen. Abdul Qayum Baqizoi, told The Times the attack was the result of a “misunderstanding.” But NATO, which is investigating the incident along with Afghan security forces, described the incident in a statement as a “suspected insider attack.”
More than 50 coalition soldiers have died in “green-on-blue” killings this year, up from 35 in 2011. The surge in attacks has strained U.S.-Afghan relations, and led NATO to suspend most joint military actions with Afghan forces earlier this month in order to put additional safeguards in place.
Those operations were set to resume, and it is unclear what impact, if any, the killings will have on plans to restart joint operations.
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