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U.S. troops had tea with killer Afghan policeman

03 December 2010 21:35 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. U.S. troops had tea with a rogue Afghan border policeman shortly before he shot six of them dead, the NATO-led coalition said on Friday, after an investigation into one of the worst such shootings in more than a year, APA reports quoting â€œReutersâ€.
The incident appeared to be the latest in a run of attacks by renegade police and soldiers, underlining the pressure on NATO-led troops as they try to train Afghan forces rapidly to allow a handover of security responsibility from next year.
NATO and Afghan National Army troops had trekked up a mountain in western Nangahar province for artillery training at an Afghan Border Police outpost, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.
They were served a "customary" tea by the border police, made sure the impact area was clear and safe, and then fired a first projectile. The attack came seconds later.
"Immediately following the impact, the border police member opened fire, killing six U.S. soldiers. Two U.S. soldiers returned fire, killing the border policeman," the statement said.
The Afghan government condemned the attack, which Taliban insurgents have not claimed.
"This is a terrible tragedy. The actions of this lone gunman are in no way a reflection of the great working relationship we enjoy with the International Security Assistance Force," ISAF quoted Afghan Interior Minister Bismillah Mohammadi saying.
Afghan authorities said last year they were tightening vetting for the police and army after a similar incident when a renegade soldier killed five British troops on November 3, 2009.
The rapid creation of a national army and police force since the Taliban were ousted has seen tens of thousands of Afghans join up, raising concerns that former insurgents or sympathizers may be among them.
Earlier this month three ISAF troops were shot by an Afghan soldier in the south, and in August two Spanish police and an interpreter were killed by a policeman they were training.
In July, an Afghan soldier killed three British Gurkha soldiers. A week later, an Afghan soldier killed two U.S. contractors inside a base in Mazar-i-Sharif in the north.