Afghan policeman kills 5 British soldiers
By Elena Becatoros - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Nov 4, 2009 10:25:53 EST
KABUL — An Afghan policeman opened fire on British soldiers in the volatile southern province of Helmand, killing five before fleeing, British and Afghan authorities said Wednesday, raising concerns about discipline within the Afghan forces and possible infiltration by insurgents.
The attack Tuesday afternoon came a month after an Afghan policeman on patrol with U.S. soldiers fired on the Americans, killing two. Training and operating jointly with Afghan police and soldiers is key to NATO's strategy of dealing with the spreading Taliban-led insurgency and, ultimately, allowing international forces to leave Afghanistan.
Attacks such as these will heighten concern about the effectiveness of the Afghan forces.
Lt. Col. David Wakefield, spokesman for the British forces, told Sky News that the soldiers had been mentoring Afghan national police and had been working and living in the police checkpoint in Helmand's Nad-e-Ali district.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/11/ap_british_soldiers_killed_110409/
Well, there is no doubt, the Taliban insurgency is connected also to the Afghan police, I mean after the latest huge recruitment of new policemen, there was a high percentage possibility, that many of them are not actually supporting the allies and their fight against this terrorist organization. And on the other hand for Taliban it must come handy to have their men infiltrated in the police - as we have seen. My condolences to the families of those soldiers, who unfortunately died in this miserable conflict. Jay
ReplyDeleteHi Jay,
ReplyDeleteThe same thing happened in Iraq when they were training Iraqis. Both of these are not really wars with clear sides and people lining up. They are blending in with their own agenda. Their country is not what matters to them and not worth putting first. They put themselves first instead. If they really wanted to have a better future living in peace they would have stepped up when the troops first got there, got rid of the Al Qaeda, kicked out the Taliban and learned what they could to defend their own people from them. No easy answers in Afghanistan at all now.