KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A man in an Afghan army uniform shot and wounded a number of coalition troops in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S.-led NATO coalition said on Wednesday.
In a statement to The Associated Press, it said that the service members were being treated at a medical facility. It did not say how many were wounded or provide any other details about the attack — which occurred on Tuesday in eastern Wardak province's Sayed Abad district.
The coalition maintains a large base there, but NATO did not say where in the district the attack took place.
The statement did not say what happened to the man who fired on the service members, but said an investigation into the incident was underway.
It was the latest likely case of an insider attack on coalition troops.
Three British soldiers were killed on Sunday by an Afghan policeman in southern Afghanistan's Helmand district.
That attack brought the total number of so called "Green-on-Blue" killings involving Afghan security officials attacking NATO allies to 26 in 18 incidents so far this year. That compares with 11 fatal attacks and 20 deaths the previous year. In 2007 and 2008 there were a combined total of four attacks and four deaths.
Officials do not routinely report such attacks where troops are wounded unless asked.
Efforts to drawdown the number of U.S. and other foreign troops in Afghanistan rely on them working closely with their Afghan partners to train and mentor them so that they can take over the security of their country by the end of 2014. But such insider attacks fuel distrust and have triggered increased security protections for foreign troops serving in Afghanistan.
A total of 220 foreign troops have been killed this year, including five in July.
