Two French NATO soldiers gunned down in Afghanistan
Two French NATO soldiers were gunned down outside of Kabul by a man dressed in Afghan army uniform.
A man dressed as an Afghan solider gunned down two French service members in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, the second time in a week that an alleged Taliban sympathizer in army fatigues shot at NATO forces, The New York Times reported.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the killings, except it stated the soldier killed three French men, rather than two, the Los Angeles Times reported. The shooting took place near Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, in the Tagab Valley, where many of France’s 4,000 troops are deployed in the country.
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“A man named Mohammed Ibrahim, who was a personnel of Afghan National Army, opened fire on French soldiers today in Tagab district of Kapisa province, killing three troops,” Taliban’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg.
NATO issued a statement saying it was “investigating the incident,” Bloomberg reported. France’s President, Nicolas Sarkozy, also issued a statement on Thursday, which said military personnel, who were engineers from a Foreign Legion regiment, were hit deliberately. The man who turned his gun on French troops was then shot dead by other NATO troops, according to spokesperson Jason Waggoner, Bloomberg reported.
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“There are soldiers in the army who are in contact with us and waiting for their chances to attack and kill the foreigners inside their bases,” Mujahid said, The Times reported. “You will see more of these reports in the coming future.”
On Saturday, a man dressed in an Afghan soldier uniform, opened fire against American soldiers in Farah, during a joint patrol. No American soldiers were hurt, but the attacker was killed, The Times reported. The Taliban also took credit for this shooting.
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