Afghan escapes custody after shooting NATO soldier

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AFP, Kabul

An Afghan soldier held on suspicion of killing a NATO soldier from Slovakia escaped
from prison and walked off a heavily guarded military base with the help of a guard,
officials said Monday.
The escape will raise new questions about the capacity and professionalism of the
Afghan army as the remaining 100,000 foreign troops in the country prepare to leave
next year.

The soldier was arrested last Tuesday after opening fire on foreign troops.
The Slovakian died and six other soldiers were wounded during the attack
at a military base in the southern province of Kandahar. Officials said the Afghan soldier
fled his prison cell on Sunday.“An Afghan army soldier who opened fire on Slovakian soldiers
last week has run away from detention,” General Abdul Hameed, the top Afghan army
commander in the south, told AFP.The general said another soldier, who had guarded his
prison cell, assisted his breakout and also absconded.The pair managed to sneak off the
base by pretending that the detainee was sick and needed to be taken to a military hospital,
the general told AFP.

The U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force said it had “full confidence” that the
soldier would be re-arrested.“We have full confidence in our Afghan partners, that they will
do an investigation, they will be able to bring this individual back to custody,” said ISAF
spokesman Brigadier General Heinz Feldmann.General Zahir Azimi, spokesman for the Afghan
defence ministry, confirmed to reporters that an investigation had been launched.
The Taliban said the shooter, whom they named as Isanullah, had links to the Taliban and
was helped by a fellow soldier to escape.A local official said the guard -- a fellow soldier --
and the shooter walked out of the prison and hitched a lift on the base from a military truck,
asking to be dropped off at the gate.“The driver agreed without realising their identity.
They simply walked off the base and disappeared,” he said on condition of anonymity
because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Songs advocating the Taliban fight and suicide bombings had been found on his mobile
phone during investigations, the official said.“It appears that he was impressed by the Taliban,
if he did not have a full link (to the insurgents),” he told AFP.
In 2012 around 60 NATO troops were killed in insider attacks in Afghanistan, breeding fierce
mistrust and threatening to derail efforts to replace NATO combat troops with local forces next year.
The Taliban often claim that Afghan soldiers who kill their NATO allies are linked to the militant group.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/asia/2013/07/15/Afghan-escapes-custody-after-shooting-NATO-soldier.html

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In an incident being described variously as an insider attack and an "accident," an Afghan security force member opened fire on International Security Assistance Force troops at Kandahar Airfield this morning, killing one and wounding at least two more.

Initial reports indicated that American troops had been targeted. Gen. Abdur Raziq Sherzai, a commander of the Afghan National Army's 20th Atal Corps, told Pajhwok Afghan News that a "rogue soldier" from Laghman province who had joined the ANA two years ago fired at US troops at the airfield and wounded three US troops. Sherzai said the attacker had been arrested and was being interrogated. According to the Javed Faisal, spokesman for the provincial governor, the shooting occurred after a "verbal clash."

An account by Khaama Press stated that "at least three" Czech soldiers were wounded in the attack, which occurred as they were "crossing the area." The Khaama report said the attacker belonged to an air force brigade.

A subsequent report by the Associated Press indicates that the injured soldiers were from Slovakia, which guards the Kandahar Airfield base. According to the AP report, gubernatorial spokesman Faisal claimed that a preliminary investigation indicated the shooting was an "accident" rather than an insider attack.

According to ISAF, one soldier was killed in the attack today. The ISAF statement said that one ISAF member "died when an individual wearing an Afghan National Security Force uniform fired his weapon at ISAF individuals in southern Afghanistan today."

Slovakia's Defense Minister, Martin Glvac, later confirmed that one Slovak soldier was killed, two seriously injured, and four more lightly injured, according to Pajhwok Afghan News. The attacker was a disgruntled Afghan soldier named Lamber Khan, the New York Times reported.

Just yesterday, ISAF formally turned over security responsibility for Regional Command South to Afghan forces, in a ceremony at Kandahar Airfield. ISAF and Afghan military officials in Kandahar announced that Afghan National Security Forces were now strong enough to repel Taliban attempts to take over districts in southern Afghanistan, TOLONews reported. Gen. Abdul Majid, the Commander of the Afghan National Army's (ANA) 205 ATAL, claimed that Taliban forces had recently tried to occupy some districts of southern Afghanistan but had been thwarted by security forces.

"Thousands of Taliban insurgents came from neighbouring countries and failed. The Quetta Council had decided that the Taliban should have one district of each province under its control. But they failed in their attempt," he said.

Today's attack is the eighth green-on-blue attack so far this year in Afghanistan, and the first this year in Kandahar province. [See LWJ Special Report, Green-on-blue attacks in Afghanistan: the data.] The overall number of such attacks, in which Afghan forces turn on their Coalition counterparts, is down so far this year from a peak in 2012, when green-on-blue attacks accounted for 15% of total Coalition casualties. This year, there have been eight deaths from green-on-blue attacks, accounting for 8% of Coalition casualties. The downturn is likely due to reduced partnering between Afghan and Coalition forces as greater security responsibility is turned over to the Afghans.

As the time for the withdrawal of all US combat forces in 2014 approaches, the Obama administration and the Karzai government are finding themselves increasingly at odds over long-term security plans for Afghanistan. President Karzai recently repudiated peace talks between the US and the Taliban in Qatar, claiming they left Afghanistan out of the equation. The New York Times reported today that President Obama, in turn, is said to be giving new consideration to the "zero option" in Afghanistan, in which no US troops will be left in the country to help maintain stability after 2014.



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