Men wearing Afghan uniforms kill contractor at U.S. base

USPA News - A group of gunmen wearing Afghan uniforms stormed the gate of a military base in northeastern Afghanistan on Friday and opened fire, killing a civilian contractor working for foreign troops and injuring several coalition service members, officials said. The attack happened on Friday when three individuals wearing Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) uniforms and driving an ANSF vehicle forced their way onto Forward Operating Base Tagab in Kapisa province.

They then opened fire at coalition service members and civilian contractors. "All three individuals were killed during the engagement and the area has been secured by ISAF and ANSF," said U.S. Army Major Martyn Crighton, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). "Afghan and coalition officials are looking into the circumstances of this incident." The alliance confirmed one of its civilian contractors was killed in the attack, but his or her nationality was not immediately known. "A few ISAF service members received non-life-threatening injuries during the attack but as a matter of policy we do not discuss the number or condition of the injured," Crighton said, adding that the injured were taken to an ISAF medical facility for treatment. The coalition said an investigation into the incident was already underway, but it was not yet clear whether the attackers were Afghan security forces or impostors. If confirmed to be a so-called `green-on-blue` attack, it would be the second such incident on Western troops so far this year. On January 7, a British soldier was killed and six others were injured when a member of the Afghan National Army turned his weapon against foreign troops at a patrol base in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand Province, located in southern Afghanistan. More than 60 soldiers were killed in similar insider attacks last year.