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Three U.S. Troops Wounded In Insider Attack By Afghan Soldier


FILE: Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers and US NATO soldiers attend the opening ceremony of National Directorate of Security (NDS) compound funded by Washington in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand province in April 2014.
FILE: Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers and US NATO soldiers attend the opening ceremony of National Directorate of Security (NDS) compound funded by Washington in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand province in April 2014.

The NATO-led mission in Afghanistan says three U.S. troops were wounded in a March 19 attack by an Afghan soldier, the first known insider attack on coalition personnel in the country this year.

"Three U.S. soldiers were wounded this afternoon when an Afghan soldier opened fire on them at a base in Helmand Province. Coalition security forces on the base killed the soldier to end the attack," a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan was quoted by AFP as saying.

The NATO-led mission, known as Resolute Support, said on Twitter that the U.S. soldiers were receiving medical care.

The number of insider attacks by Afghan soldiers on international forces have declined in recent years, with a majority of foreign combat troops having withdrawn from the country in late 2014.

Some 13,000 soldiers under NATO leadership remain in the country, however, for a training and assistance mission aimed at helping Afghan forces combat Taliban insurgents.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters

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