Officials: 2 NATO troops, 2 Afghan soldiers killed in dispute-turned-gunfight

KABUL – Afghan army soldiers exchanged fire with NATO service members after a heated dispute Wednesday on a base in the east of the country, leaving two Afghans and two foreigners dead, according to accounts by NATO and an Afghan official.

It appeared to be the latest in a series of insider attacks on foreign forces by Afghan allies or men wearing their uniforms.

The NATO-led force confirmed the deaths of its service members, saying they were killed by two men in Afghan uniforms. The coalition gave no further information, saying there would be an investigation.

A senior Afghan military official meanwhile said two Afghan army personnel were killed in the fight but had no further information, saying a joint NATO-Afghan team had been dispatched to investigate. He added that several other personnel were wounded in the incident in an Afghan base in the Pagab district of Kapisa province, east of Kabul.

He could not be identified because he was not authorized to release the information.

Insider attacks in the past have been claimed by Taliban insurgents as proof they can infiltrate Afghanistan’s Western-trained security forces. Other cases have involved personal quarrels between Afghan forces and their trainers.

The Taliban earlier Wednesday issued a statement claiming that a “battle” between Afghan forces and foreign trainers had resulted in several deaths and injuries, but the insurgents did not claim its infiltrators were responsible.