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Two U.S. Troops Killed By Afghan Police Officer; Latest 'Green On Blue' Attack

Two American military personnel were killed early today in western Afghanistan's Farah province when "a member of the Afghan Local Police turned his weapon" on them, allied commanders in Kabul report.

According to The Associated Press, the deaths bring to at least 36 the number of foreign troops killed this year in so-called green-on-blue attacks by men in Afghan military or police uniforms against coalition forces. The wire service adds that:

"The attack came at about 8 a.m. Friday after the U.S. forces arrived in the village of Kinisk to train members of the local police, Farah provincial police chief Agha Noor Kemtoz said. He identified the attacker as Mohammad Ismail, a man in his 30s who had been recruited to the program five days ago."

Allied commanders refer to this type of incident as an "insider threat attack."

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Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
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