Two American soldiers killed by an Afghan soldier

Two US soldiers were killed and six others injured on Saturday, February 8, in a machine gun attack by an Afghan soldier in eastern Afghanistan, highlighting continuing insecurity in the country. war for 18 years.

"Current information indicates that an individual wearing an Afghan uniform opened fire with a machine gun on a group of American and Afghan soldiers," the spokesman for the American forces in Afghanistan, Sonny Leggett, said on Sunday. .

He had previously confirmed that these soldiers had been subjected to "direct fire" in Nangarhar province.

Provincial governor Shah Mahmood Meyakil said in an audio message to the press that three Afghan soldiers were injured. He said it was not immediately clear whether the incident was a deliberate act by an "undercover" person or whether it was an accident. "There was no confrontation between the forces. We are investigating," he added.

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The spokesman for the American forces also said that the reason for the attack was unknown at the moment. There was no immediate demand for the attack.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid declined to comment on the attack, saying in a message to AFP that his group was "investigating".

In a tweet, the 7th US Army Special Forces Group said that "several" of its soldiers were killed or injured.

2019, deadliest year for American troops since the end of the fighting

Last year was the deadliest for US troops in Afghanistan since the official end of combat operations in late 2014. In December, Taliban infiltrated into the ranks of the Afghan military killed nine Afghan soldiers in the center of the country . In July, an Afghan soldier killed two American soldiers while they were at an Afghan military base in Kandahar province. The incident came weeks after another Afghan soldier shot and killed an Afghan army colonel in Ghazni province.

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US President Donald Trump reaffirmed in Congress on Tuesday his desire to ultimately withdraw American soldiers from Afghanistan, insisting that the United States was not called upon to maintain order in that country.

"In Afghanistan, the determination and the value of our combatants have enabled us to make enormous progress and peace talks are underway," he said during his State of the Union address.

Taliban negotiations

"It is not our role to serve as a law enforcement agency for other countries," he added, reaffirming his desire to "end the longest American war and bring back our troops at home. " "We are working to end America's wars in the Middle East," he said.

The United States has been negotiating for a year and a half with the Taliban, an agreement supposed to allow the American army to initiate a gradual withdrawal in exchange for guarantees in the fight against terrorism and the opening of unprecedented direct peace talks between the insurgents. Islamists and the Kabul government.

But the signing of such a text, imminent at the beginning of September, was canceled at the last minute by Donald Trump, after an umpteenth attack which had killed in particular an American soldier. Discussions have since resumed in Doha, Qatar, but seem to come up against the American demand for a significant reduction in violence on the part of the rebels.

With AFP

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