NATO police advisor killed in Kabul attack

Afghan policeman stand guard in front of the Kabul police headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan on Dec. 24, 2012. A NATO police advisor was killed Monday morning when an Afghan policewoman opened fire in capital Kabul, local media Tolo TV reported. (Xinhua/Ahmad Massoud)

KABUL, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- A NATO police advisor was killed Monday morning when an Afghan policewoman opened fire in capital Kabul, local media Tolo TV reported.
"A policewoman with the Afghan National Police (ANP) opened fire at a foreign police advisor inside Kabul police headquarters Monday morning, killing the advisor," Tolo aired in its news bulletin.
According to the report the killed man was an American. No member of Kabul police was available to make comments.
Meantime, a spokesman with the NATO-led coalition or International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed that a civilian police advisor with the ISAF came under attack in Kabul.
"We are aware an Afghan woman dressed in Afghan police uniform attacked a civilian police advisor in Kabul and the shooter was arrested," the spokesman told Xinhua via cellphone, without providing more details.
The ISAF is still working to find the facts into the incident and more details will be released as appropriate, the ISAF spokesman added.
The motive behind the shooting has not been clear so far.
If the attacker confirmed to be a member of ANP, the Monday's incident would be the latest in the so-called "green-on-blue" insider attacks when Afghan police or army turned their weapons against their international partners.
A total of 58 foreign soldiers were killed in 38 such incidents since beginning of this year.
On Feb. 25, two U.S. military advisors were shot dead by an Afghan Interior Ministry employee inside the ministry compound in Kabul and the attacker fled the scene shortly after shooting the victims by his pistol.
The Taliban insurgents, who have been waging an insurgency of more than one decade, have regularly claimed responsibilities for the green on blue attacks, saying their men have infiltrated into the ranks of Afghan army and police to kill foreign soldiers.
However, the coalition military officials have recently said that about 25 percent of the insider attacks are in some manner related to the Taliban-led insurgency.
They said the factors that contribute to the so-called green on blue shootings are wide-ranging from infiltration and impersonation to personal grievances.
However, it is said that the cultural differences between Afghan security forces and their western partners could also be a reason for the attacks.
Related:
NATO death toll in Afghanistan drops in November
KABUL, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- The death toll of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan dropped considerably for the third successive month in November as the fighting season has ended in the insurgency-hit country.
In November, a total of 17 ISAF or coalition soldiers, with 16 of them Americans, have lost their lives against 52 in August when the military alliance suffered the highest casualties since January this year, according to the iCasualties, a website tracking the casualties of foreign troops in the war-torn country.  Full story

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