Three US soldiers were killed and another wounded during a joint US-Afghan military operation in Nangarhar Province on Saturday, US officials told CNN.

One American official said the soldiers were shot in an apparent insider attack, also known as a “green-on-blue” because of the color-coding system used by NATO. During such assaults, members of the Afghan security forces are known to target US and other NATO soldiers.

The shooter in Saturday’s incident was believed to be a member of the Afghan military, the US official said.

The shootings occurred in the Achin District, where US and Afghan troops have been carrying out a monthslong offensive against a local affiliate of ISIS, officials said.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the militants claimed responsibility for the attack.

“A Mujahid (freedom fighter) infiltrator of the Islamic Emirate who had enrolled himself in the Kabul government’s army attacked American soldiers in Lata Band area of Achin district in Nangarhar province today in the afternoon,” said a written statement in Pashto obtained by CNN. “The American invaders were there to support their Afghan slaves.”

The statement claimed the infiltrator managed to kill four US troops before he was killed by Afghan soldiers.

President Donald Trump was briefed on the shootings, a White House spokesman said, but as of Saturday evening there had been no comment from the President.

While in Milwaukee, Vice President Mike Pence said: “On my way here, I was informed that US service members were killed and wounded in an attack in Afghanistan. The President and I have been briefed. Details of this attack will be forthcoming. When heroes fall, Americans grieve. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of American heroes.”

A US military spokesman in Afghanistan said: “We are aware of an incident in Eastern Afghanistan. We will release more information when appropriate.”

In Kabul, meanwhile, the US military command said an unspecified number of Afghan police were killed and wounded in a “friendly fire” incident during a joint Afghan-US operation overnight Saturday.

In a statement, US Forces Afghanistan said members of the Afghan Border Police in Helmand Province were killed and wounded during an operation involving US and Afghan defense and security forces.

Omar Zawak, spokesman for the governor of Helmand, said the deaths occurred when a US aircraft fired on Afghan police, the statement said.

US Forces Afghanistan is investigating the incident.

Two US service member killed in April

US and coalition casualties in Afghanistan have become rarer, falling dramatically since the Afghan government assumed responsibility for combat operations in 2014.

In late April, however, two US service members were killed and another wounded while conducting a joint raid in the Achin District, according to a Pentagon spokesman. The operation was targeting ISIS-K, the terror group’s Afghanistan affiliate.

Achin District is the primary base of operations for ISIS in Afghanistan and has been the site of multiple joint US-Afghan counterterrorism missions. A US Army Special Forces soldier was killed fighting the terror group there in early April.

The district is also where the US dropped one of its most powerful bombs earlier this month, killing close to 100 ISIS fighters, according to Afghan officials.

Beginning in 2016, Afghan security forces backed by US military advisers launched a major offensive against ISIS. Gen. John W. Nicholson, commander of US Forces Afghanistan, has said the terror group has lost about half of its fighters and been ejected from two-thirds of its territory.

The latest counter-ISIS push began in March of this year.

US officials estimate that ISIS has 600 to 800 fighters in the country, mostly former members of other regional terror groups, including the Pakistani Taliban and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. ISIS is believed to be behind a series of terror attacks, including the recent deadly attack on a hospital in Kabul.

There are about 8,400 US troops in Afghanistan. The US counterterrorism mission is separate from the NATO-led effort to train, advise and assist the Afghan army and police force in its fight against the Taliban. </s> Two US service members were killed Thursday while conducting a joint US-Afghan operation in the Achin District of Nangarhar Province, Pentagon Spokesman US Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told CNN.

The operation was targeting ISIS-K, the terror group’s Afghanistan affiliate. A US official told CNN the service members were Special Operations Forces soldiers.

The US official also told CNN that an additional soldier was wounded during the firefight. That service member’s wounds are not considered life-threatening.

Achin District is the primary base of operations for ISIS in Afghanistan and has been the site of multiple joint US-Afghan counterterrorism missions. It is also where the US dropped one of its most powerful bombs earlier this month, killing close to 100 ISIS fighters, according to Afghan officials.

Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, has pledged to eliminate ISIS-K from Afghanistan this year.

US and coalition casualties in Afghanistan have fallen dramatically since the Afghan government assumed responsibility for combat operations in 2014. </s> Kabul: A Taliban suicide bomber attacked an army base in southern Helmand province Saturday killing four civilians and two soldiers, officials said.

Omar Zwak, spokesman for the provincial governor in Helmand, said three civilians and two soldiers were wounded in the attack in Nad Ali district. He said the bomber was a Taliban fighter who targeted the base using a mini-van, said Zwak.

Major Abdul Qadeer Bahadorzai, the army corps commander's spokesman in the south, confirmed the attack. He said the death toll could change.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Taliban insurgents announced the start of their annual spring offensive on Wednesday even as insurgents are already regularly launching attacks and battling security forces.

In another report, in eastern Nangarhar province five people were killed and 15 others wounded in separate attacks, said Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor.

Khogyani said among five dead there are three women; militants fired mortar shells striking a home in Goshta district. Three others, including two females and a small child, were wounded in the attack late Friday night.

Meanwhile, 12 people were wounded in an explosion in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar, said Khogyani. He said the victims were two traffic police and 10 civilians.

"Two wounded civilians are in critical condition," he said.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks in Nangarhar, but the Taliban and Islamic State group are both active in eastern Afghanistan, particularly Nangarhar province.

The Taliban issued a statement Wednesday saying the "Al-Khandaq" offensive would make use of "new and intricate tactics" aimed at "crushing, killing and capturing American invaders and their supporters."

The onset of spring has traditionally brought an increase in violence in Afghanistan, as melting snows allow fighters to more easily traverse the mountainous terrain.

But in recent years the Taliban and an Islamic State group affiliate have carried out near-daily attacks year-round. The Taliban have seized control of districts across the country and regularly target Kabul, the capital.

The U.S. formally ended its combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014, but thousands of American troops remain in the country in a counterterrorism and support role. The Trump administration has sent thousands of additional troops to try to change the course of America's longest war. </s> Three U.S. soldiers were killed Saturday when an Afghan army soldier opened fire on them in eastern Afghanistan, an Afghan official said.Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor in Nangarhar province, said that two other U.S. soldiers are wounded in the attack, which took place in the Achin district. He said the Afghan soldier was killed after the attack.The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that a Taliban loyalist had infiltrated the Afghan army "just to attack foreign forces."A statement from the U.S. military said merely that the military was "aware of an incident in eastern Afghanistan."White House spokesman Raj Shah told reporters traveling with the President Donald Trump in New Jersey that Trump was "following the emerging situation in Afghanistan."Such insider attacks have happened before in Afghanistan. In March, another Afghan soldier was killed after he opened fire on foreign forces at a base in Helmand province, wounding three U.S. soldiers. </s> Two U.S. soldiers have been killed in fighting against an affiliate of the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nangarhar, the U.S. military says.

 

 Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis on April 27 said the soldiers were killed during an operation on April 26 against ISIS Khorasan, an IS affiliate that operates in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

 

 U.S. forces have been battling IS-linked militants in Nangarhar Province, where they have established themselves to battle against Afghan government forces.

 

 On April 13, the U.S. military dropped its most powerful nonnuclear weapon ever used in combat, killing, it said, 94 fighters in what was suspected to be a major militant command center in Nangarhar Province.

 

 CNN cited a U.S. official as saying the two soldiers killed on April 26 were members of the U.S. Special Forces and that another soldier had been wounded during the fighting in Nangarhar's southern district of Achin.

 

 The Pentagon said the soldiers were killed during a raid carried out jointly with Afghan government forces.

Based on reporting by AFP, Reuters, and AP </s> (KABUL) — An Afghan soldier opened fire on American soldiers on Saturday, injuring at least seven, the U.S. military said. It was the second such insider attack by an Afghan soldier in the past week.

Abdul Qahar Araam, spokesman for the 209th Army corps, confirmed that an insider attack took place at a camp in Mazar-e Sharif. Araam said the soldiers returned fire and killed the attacker.

Gen. Dawlat Waziri, spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, also confirmed the attack.

The Resolute Support mission announced on its Twitter feed that seven U.S. service members were wounded but said there were no U.S. fatalities. It said one Afghan soldier was killed and one wounded.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid praised the attack in a statement sent to the media. But he did not claim Taliban responsibility.

Last week three U.S. soldiers were killed by an Afghan soldier in eastern Nangarhar province. In that case Mujahid claimed that the shooter was a Taliban loyalist who infiltrated the army specifically to seek out opportunities to attack foreign soldiers. </s> Two U.S. soldiers were killed Saturday when an Afghan army solider opened fire on them in eastern Afghanistan, an Afghan official said.

Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor in Nangarhar province, said that two other U.S. soldiers are wounded in the attack, which took place in the Achin district.

He said the Afghan soldier was killed after the attack.

The U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Such insider attacks have happened before in Afghanistan.

In March, another Afghan soldier was killed after he opened fire on foreign forces at a base in Helmand province, wounding three U.S. soldiers. </s> At least two US soldiers were shot dead by a soldier of the Afghan National Army (ANA) commandos forces in eastern Nangarhar province.

The provincial governor’s spokesman Ataullah Khogyani confirmed the incident and said the two US soldiers were killed in an insider attack involving an Afghan Special Operation Forces soldier in the restive Achin district.

Khogyani further added that the incident took place this evening after the Afghan soldier opened fire on his US comrades, leaving two dead and two others wounded.

He said the Afghan soldier was also killed in the shootout with the US forces.

Nangarhar is among the relatively calm provinces in eastern Afghanistan but the anti-government armed militant groups have recently increased their insurgency activities in some parts of the province during the recent years.

The Afghan forces are busy conducting counter-terrorism operations to eliminate the militants affiliated with the ISIS terrorist group in Nangarhar province.

The operations are being conducted in coordination with the US forces based in Afghanistan who are mainly carrying out airstrikes as part of a broader role granted to them by the Obama administration last year.

Follow Khaama Press (KP) | Afghan News Agency on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook. Stay updated via RSS </s> KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – An Afghan official says that two U.S. soldiers have been killed after an Afghan army soldier opened fire on them in eastern Afghanistan.

Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor in Nangarhar province, said Saturday that two other U.S. soldiers are wounded in the attack, which took place in the Achin district. He said the Afghan soldier was killed after the attack.

Such insider attacks have happened before in Afghanistan. In March, another Afghan soldier was killed after he opened fire on foreign forces at a base in Helmand province, wounding three U.S. soldiers.
An Afghan soldier kills 3 U.S. troops and injures 1 other in Achin, Nangarhar Province. The Taliban claims responsibility, saying the Afghan soldier was one of several Taliban infiltrators in the Afghan Armed Forces.