A NATO soldier opens fire toward journalists near the main gate of Camp Qargha on Tuesday after a shooting at the military training academy outside Kabul. (Photo: Massoud Hossaini/Associated Press)
Aug 05, 2014
Update:
The army official killed in Afghanistan has been identified as Major General Harold Greene.
**
A two-star major general in the U.S. Army was killed on Tuesday when a man dressed as an Afghan soldier opened fire on a military training base in Kabul, Afghanistan, officials have said.
The officer is the highest-ranking member of the military to be killed in the Afghanistan war.
Officials told the New York Times that an unspecified number of other U.S. service members and foreign troops were also shot. Their conditions have been reported as critical by various anonymous sources. According to CBS News, 16 of the wounded are Americans, and three senior Afghan officers, including the camp's commander Gen. Gulam Sakhi, were wounded as well. A German brigadier general is also being treated for injuries, although the German military has said that they are not life-threatening.
The shooting was described by the American-led coalition as "an incident" at the Afghanistan National Military Academy, part of the Marshall Fahim National Defense University in Kabul, where a number of senior NATO commanders were meeting at the time.
Details are still unclear about the event and the shooter. The Afghan Defense Ministry said the shooter, who was killed by security forces at the base, was "a terrorist in an army uniform." However, the German military told the Times that the incident was "presumably an internal attack." Neither allegation has been confirmed.
So-called "insider attacks," where Afghan soldiers open fire on coalition forces, have sharply declined since 2012. Although the Taliban has often claimed credit for similar shootings, commanders from the U.S. and Afghanistan have said they are more likely a result of individual soldiers who have grown angry over the war and the continued foreign military presence in their country, the Times reports.
Other details will be released pending the general's family being notified of his death.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Update:
The army official killed in Afghanistan has been identified as Major General Harold Greene.
**
A two-star major general in the U.S. Army was killed on Tuesday when a man dressed as an Afghan soldier opened fire on a military training base in Kabul, Afghanistan, officials have said.
The officer is the highest-ranking member of the military to be killed in the Afghanistan war.
Officials told the New York Times that an unspecified number of other U.S. service members and foreign troops were also shot. Their conditions have been reported as critical by various anonymous sources. According to CBS News, 16 of the wounded are Americans, and three senior Afghan officers, including the camp's commander Gen. Gulam Sakhi, were wounded as well. A German brigadier general is also being treated for injuries, although the German military has said that they are not life-threatening.
The shooting was described by the American-led coalition as "an incident" at the Afghanistan National Military Academy, part of the Marshall Fahim National Defense University in Kabul, where a number of senior NATO commanders were meeting at the time.
Details are still unclear about the event and the shooter. The Afghan Defense Ministry said the shooter, who was killed by security forces at the base, was "a terrorist in an army uniform." However, the German military told the Times that the incident was "presumably an internal attack." Neither allegation has been confirmed.
So-called "insider attacks," where Afghan soldiers open fire on coalition forces, have sharply declined since 2012. Although the Taliban has often claimed credit for similar shootings, commanders from the U.S. and Afghanistan have said they are more likely a result of individual soldiers who have grown angry over the war and the continued foreign military presence in their country, the Times reports.
Other details will be released pending the general's family being notified of his death.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Update:
The army official killed in Afghanistan has been identified as Major General Harold Greene.
**
A two-star major general in the U.S. Army was killed on Tuesday when a man dressed as an Afghan soldier opened fire on a military training base in Kabul, Afghanistan, officials have said.
The officer is the highest-ranking member of the military to be killed in the Afghanistan war.
Officials told the New York Times that an unspecified number of other U.S. service members and foreign troops were also shot. Their conditions have been reported as critical by various anonymous sources. According to CBS News, 16 of the wounded are Americans, and three senior Afghan officers, including the camp's commander Gen. Gulam Sakhi, were wounded as well. A German brigadier general is also being treated for injuries, although the German military has said that they are not life-threatening.
The shooting was described by the American-led coalition as "an incident" at the Afghanistan National Military Academy, part of the Marshall Fahim National Defense University in Kabul, where a number of senior NATO commanders were meeting at the time.
Details are still unclear about the event and the shooter. The Afghan Defense Ministry said the shooter, who was killed by security forces at the base, was "a terrorist in an army uniform." However, the German military told the Times that the incident was "presumably an internal attack." Neither allegation has been confirmed.
So-called "insider attacks," where Afghan soldiers open fire on coalition forces, have sharply declined since 2012. Although the Taliban has often claimed credit for similar shootings, commanders from the U.S. and Afghanistan have said they are more likely a result of individual soldiers who have grown angry over the war and the continued foreign military presence in their country, the Times reports.
Other details will be released pending the general's family being notified of his death.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.