Foreign soldier dies of wounds from Afghan shooting

10/07/2007| IslamWeb

A soldier from the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan died of gunshot wounds he received when a suspected Taliban insurgent who had infiltrated Afghan army ranks opened fire on troops at a base in the west of the country.

The U.S. military said on Tuesday the soldier died late on Monday after the incident at the Afghan army base in the western city of Herat earlier in the day.

The U.S. military statement did not give the nationality of the dead man, but local government officials said on Monday two U.S. soldiers were wounded in the attack.

Four Afghan soldiers were killed immediately and 10 more wounded in the incident, the officials said.

They said one man was detained and suspected of having links with Taliban insurgents. Other Afghan officials said the incident was due to a personal dispute.

The U.S. military said an investigation into the incident was underway.

An Afghan soldier shot dead two U.S. soldiers in the capital Kabul in May, but results of an investigation into that incident have not been made public.

American soldiers form the bulk of the nearly 50,000 foreign troops in two NATO and U.S.-led forces.

Apart from fighting Taliban insurgents, the troops also provide training to the Afghan army and police.

PHOTO CAPTION

A U.S. soldier walks with a shovel towards vehicles stuck in mud, some 70km south of Ghazni, southeastern Afghanistan April 23, 2007. (Reuters)

Reuters