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US soldier killed, another wounded in Afghanistan 'insider attack'

In this photo taken on July 7, 2018, US Army soldiers are seen through a cracked window of an armed vehicle in a checkpoint during a patrol at Deh Bala district in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar. (Photo by AFP)

An American soldier has been killed and another wounded in Afghanistan in a suspected case of insider attack, the US-led Resolute Support Mission (RSM) has announced.

According to RSM and local news outlets, the so-called green-on-blue or insider attack took place in the war-torn country’s troubled east on Monday.

Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan General Scott Miller said in a statement that the death was a “tragic loss.”

"The sacrifice of our service member, who volunteered for a mission to Afghanistan to protect his country, is a tragic loss for all who knew and all who will now never know him," said Gen.  Miller, who assumed command of NATO forces in Afghanistan on Sunday.

The statement said the wounded service member was in a stable condition but gave no further details, saying their name would be released 24 hours after next of kin notification. 

The trooper was the sixth American soldier killed in Afghanistan this year.

The incident came nearly two months after a member of a US army training unit was shot dead by an Afghan soldier in the southern province of Uruzgan.

Insider attacks are often known as "green on blue" attacks, in which Afghan service members or attackers wearing Afghan uniforms fire on US or coalition troops.

Overall, 3,555 US-led troops, including 2,414 American soldiers, have been killed since the US-led war on Afghanistan began in 2001 following the 9/11 terror attacks, according to iCasualties website.

The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 with the declared aim of toppling the Taliban. The war removed the militant group from power but some 17 years on the Taliban are still active in two-thirds of the country and involved in widespread militancy, killing thousands of civilians as well as Afghan and US forces despite the presence of foreign troops.

Last year, the United States added thousands of additional troops to its forces in Afghanistan. Washington claims the American troops are deployed in Afghanistan to train Afghan forces and conduct counter-terrorist missions against militant groups.


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