Afghanistan- US General killed in Kabul attack

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) A US General was killed and 14 wounded, including a German general, when a man in Afghan army uniform opened fire on international and Afghan forces at a military training academy in Kabul yesterday, the German military and Afghan officials said.

ISAF, the international force in Afghanistan, said the attack took place at the British military training academy in the capital.

Germany's Der Spiegal reported that a two-star US General was killed. ISAF declined to comment but said one of its service members had been killed in the attack at around noon.

In Washington, the Pentagon confirmed that a US General was killed, the highest-ranking American fatality since the 9/11 attacks.

The US Defence Department also identified the assailant, who was wearing a uniform, as an Afghan soldier and said he was killed after he opened fire on coalition forces, his supposed allies.

A department spokesman, however, he would not identify the general further pending next of kin. ISAF said the wounded German general, whose life is no longer in danger, is being given medical treatment.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack, saying the delegation had been visiting the facility to help build Afghanistan's security forces.

Afghanistan's Defence Ministry confirmed the gunman was wearing an Afghan army uniform. "Today at noon, a terrorist in army uniform opened fire on international partners and other Afghan officers, wounding many," it said.

Such attacks have eroded trust between the allies and efforts to train Afghanistan's 350,000-strong security force.

Meanwhile, many servicemen were hurt in eastern Paktia province when a policeman opened fire on international and Afghan forces, police chief Zalmay Oryakhil said. The Taliban say insider attacks reflect their ability to infiltrate the enemy, while ISAF says incidents often arise over misunderstandings or altercations between troops.