A gunman dressed in an Afghan army uniform opened fired on Americans near a coalition base in Kabul killing one US soldier and a civilian while injuring another US soldier and two civilians; the gunman was killed shortly after the attack. Army Sgt. Douglas J. Riney, 26, of Fairview, Illinois, and Michael G. Sauro, 40, of McAlester, Oklahoma, died Thursday in Kabul.
In a statement provided by the US military command in Kabul,
“The two individuals were killed during an attack near a coalition base by an unknown assailant, who was later killed. They were conducting duties as part of the larger NATO mission to train, advise, and assist the Afghan security services.”
According to Dawlat Waziri, a Defense Ministry spokesman, the shooting occurred approximately 11 a.m local time while international troops were visiting the coalition compound in Kabul and indicated that reports came in that the shooter was wearing an Afghan army uniform when he open fired on the Americans only to be killed by return fire by international troops.
There are approximately 13,000 international troops with 8,400 of those being US troops and thousands of civilian contractors who remain in Afghanistan in a training capacity as they assist the Afghan forces who continue to battle the Taliban militants.
US officials are currently investigating the incident.
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