* Taliban claimed responsibility
* Elite Afghan soldiers undergo rigorous vetting
(Adds Pentagon comment)
By Ismail Sameem
KANDAHAR, April 27 (Reuters) – An elite Afghan soldier shot
dead an American mentor and his translator at a U.S. base,
Afghan officials said on Friday, in the first rogue shooting
blamed on the country’s new and closely vetted special forces.
The soldier opened fire at an American military base on
Wednesday in Shah Wali Kot district, in volatile Kandahar
province, said General Abdul Hamid, the commander of Afghan army
forces in the Taliban’s southern heartland.
“The shooting took place after a verbal conflict where the
Afghan special forces soldier opened fire and killed an American
special forces member and his translator,” Hamid told Reuters.
At least 18 foreign soldiers have died this year in 11
incidents of so-called green on blue shootings, which are an
increasing worry for both NATO and Afghan commanders, eroding
trust as Western combat troops look to leave the country in
2014.
The latest shooting will be of grave concern to both sides,
at it is the first involving a member of Afghanistan’s new
special forces, who undergo rigorous vetting as part of their
selection into the country’s top anti-insurgent force.
NATO’s top general in the country, U.S. Marine General John
Allen, and Afghan Defence Minister General Abdul Rahim Wardak
just this month signed an agreement for Afghan special troops to
spearhead controversial night raids on Afghan homes, which are
seen as one of the most potent anti-insurgent tactics.
Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban,
claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone text message
sent to journalists, saying the Afghan soldier was “an insurgent
infiltrator called Zakerullah.”
The claim could not immediately be corroborated, and the
Taliban frequently claim responsibility for attacks by
disgruntled Afghan soldiers.
Hamid said U.S. soldiers had immediately fired back and
killed the gunman, as well as another Afghan special forces
soldiers who was caught up in the ensuing crossfire.
Green on blue shootings have severely strained U.S.-Afghan
ties as both allies look to lock-in a security agreement to be
signed at a NATO meeting in late May, covering a U.S. presence
in Afghanistan for a decade beyond the 2014 pullout.
But NATO commanders argue the growing number of shootings is
in proportion to the growing size of Afghan security forces
toward an eventual 352,000 target.
Captain John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, said that though
it was often impossible to determine the motives for such
shootings, U.S. officials believed the majority of the attacks
were driven by “personal grievances” rather than Taliban
infiltration or inspiration.
“We are working hard with our Afghan counterparts to develop
improvements to the overall vetting and recruitment process,”
Kirby said. He said NATO prevention efforts included education
and protection measures.
“When we analyse the problem, it occurs for a number of
reasons, and not as many as you would expect show any evidence
of insurgent initiation, or insurgent backing,” a senior NATO
official who could not be identified said last week.
“Quite often people resolve their personal problems by
resorting to the use of a weapon. It’s more of a cultural thing
here.”
(Additional reporting by Missy Ryan in Washington; Writing by
Rob Taylor; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Vicki Allen)
