2 US service members killed, 6 injured in Afghanistan

Two US service members have been killed and 6 others injured when a person in an Afghan uniform opened fireplace on them with a system gun in jap Afghanistan, the US army stated on Saturday.

The incident, which happened in Nangarhar province, happened after a blended US and Afghan pressure finished a “key-leader engagement,” Colonel Sonny Leggett, a spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan, stated in a remark.

“We’re nonetheless gathering data and the motive or purpose at the back of the assault is unknown presently,” Leggett added.

Mubariz Khadem, a senior safety legit in Nangarhar province, instructed Reuters previous on Saturday that clashes happened between US and Afghan forces and casualties have been feared.

Insider assaults, steadily referred to as “green-on-blue” assaults, had been a typical function of the battle in Afghanistan, even if their frequency has lowered in fresh years.

Nangarhar, which stocks a protracted and porous border with neighboring Pakistan, had lengthy served as the primary stronghold of Islamic State, from the place militants deliberate and staged bombings across the nation, particularly the capital Kabul.

The Taliban has additionally managed portions of Nangarhar province.

About 13,00zero US troops are stationed in Afghanistan as a part of the US-led NATO venture to coach, help and advise Afghan forces and to hold out counter-terrorism operations.

The incident comes at a mild time, as US diplomats had been speaking with the Taliban for months to agree a timetable for the withdrawal of international forces in trade for safety promises.

Regardless of talks between america and the Taliban to finish the conflict, violence in the rustic has now not ebbed.