Kabul: An Afghan guard opened fire at a
NATO-escorted reconstruction convoy after an argument on Saturday,
killing a service member and a civilian working for the
coalition before being killed by return fire, a provincial
police chief said.
The convoy was travelling in the northern Panjshir
province, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of the
capital, Kabul, when it came under attack, according to
provincial police chief Gen. Mohammad Qasim Jangalbagh.
The Afghan guard, who goes by the name Amanullah, was
standing outside his home when the convoy passed by, the
police chief said.
The guard stopped the convoy, started arguing with the
NATO troops and then opened fire, killing the service member
and the civilian, Jangalbagh said. A third coalition service
member was wounded in the shooting, the police chief added,
and another NATO service member fired back, killing Amanullah.
Amanullah worked as a bodyguard for the second-ranking
official in Afghanistan`s intelligence service Gen. Assam Din
Assam, the deputy director for National Directorate for
Security, the police chief said.
Assam was not at the scene of the shooting in
Panjshir. No one at the intelligence agency could be reached
for comment.
Panjshir is one of Afghanistan`s safest provinces and
one among seven slated for transition from NATO to Afghan
control this month. Most of Panjshir`s population are Tajiks,
while the Taliban are dominated by Pashtuns, who mostly live
in southern and eastern Afghanistan.
PTI
