NATO soldier shot dead by man in Afghan army uniform

A NATO soldier has been shot dead in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province by a man wearing the uniform of the Afghan National Army, officials say.

NATO said an investigation is underway, but provided no further details about Friday’s attack and did not reveal the nationality of the service member killed.

In a statement, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed the insurgent group was behind the attack, but the Taliban regularly take credit for attacks in Afghanistan even if they were not involved, the Associated Press reports.

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A growing number of Afghan soldiers have turned their guns on the international troops they serve with, sapping moral among foreign forces, according to the BBC.

International troops are training up their Afghan counterparts to take over full security responsibility by 2014. The most recent “green on blue” attack was on April 26, when an Afghan man wearing an army uniform killed a US soldier in the south of the country.

In March, General John Allen, commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), said the attacks had resulted in “an erosion of trust,” but added that ISAF officials are implementing new systems to check the backgrounds of Afghans who sign up for the army police, and that the Afghans “have taken a lot of steps themselves,” according to CNN. 

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