This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.
A shooting took place in Kandahar, Afghanistan during a NATO meeting with U.S. forces present. The reported insider attack by at Afghan guards killed an Afghan police chief and injured two American soldiers.
Shots rang out at the high-level security meeting held at the compound of the Afghan governor, where Gen. Scott Miller, Commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, was present but escaped without injury, NBC News reported Thursday.
BREAKING: Top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott Miller, escapes injury during shooting incident Thursday but police commander of Kandahar, Gen. Abdul Razeq, has been killed, and two other American citizens have been wounded https://t.co/8I58cXFKPg – @NBCNewsWorld
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 18, 2018
Taliban spokesperson Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said the group was responsible for the attack, which intended to target Gen. Miller, according to the Associated Press.
Afghan officials confirmed to the Associated Press that a total of three local officials were killed in the attack.
Gen. Abdul Razeq, Commander of Police in Kandahar, was killed in the shooting. Razeq was considered one of the most powerful security officials in Afghanistan. He had just held a meeting with Gen. Miller in the moments before the attack.
Local Afghan media initially reported that the governor of Kandahar, Zalmay Wesa, was wounded, along with another Afghan intelligence official, according to The Independent. Latest reports indicated that both were also killed in the attack.
Two U.S. citizens were also injured in the attack. At least one of them is said to be a military member, while the other may be a civilian.
U.S. Col. Knut Peters, spokesman for NATO troops in Afghanistan, confirmed that the two wounded U.S. troops have been evacuated for medical treatment, according to The Washington Post.
A statement by NATO Resolute Support mission said, “At Kandahar palace today: Afghan-on-Afghan incident, as initial reports indicate. 2 Americans wounded. Gen. Miller uninjured, attacker reportedly dead.”
At Kandahar palace today: Afghan-on-Afghan incident, as initial reports indicate. 2 Americans wounded. Gen. Miller uninjured, attacker reportedly dead.
— Resolute Support (@ResoluteSupport) October 18, 2018
Peters also said the shooter, an Afghan soldier, has been killed. Reports indicate that the shooter was a member of the governor’s personal security detail.
