Attacks on Nato forces on rise: Pentagon
09 July, 2012
WASHINGTON: The US Defense Department has expressed deep concerns about the growing "insider attacks" on the US-led foreign troops in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon said that the attacks in which the US-led soldiers have been shot by their supposed allies in the Afghan security force have increased in recent weeks.
"We continue to be deeply concerned about the insider threat," Pentagon spokesman Capt. John Kirby was quoted as saying by Fox News.
The Pentagon recorded a total of 19 attacks involving 26 deaths, 13 of them American, as of early July. Last year, there were 21 attacks and 35 deaths, according to Kirby.
He made the comments after an Afghan soldier on Wednesday opened fire on US forces stationed in the central province of Wardak, injuring five of them.
In another incident on Monday, an Afghan policeman turned his gun on US-led foreign troops in southern Afghanistan, killing three soldiers.
The high number of military casualties in Afghanistan has intensified opposition in the United States and other NATO member states to the US-led war in the country.
Insecurity continues to rise across Afghanistan despite the presence there of about 130,000 US-led troops.
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