ISAF reports that one of its soldiers was killed by “three individuals in Afghan Police uniforms” in the south:
The International Security Assistance Force confirms that three individuals in Afghan Police uniforms turned their weapons against coalition service members in southern Afghanistan yesterday, killing one ISAF service member.
The three individuals immediately fled the area and are currently being sought.
The incident is under investigation.
It is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities.
Afghan security forces have now killed 24 ISAF soldiers in 2012. The last “green-on-blue” attack that resulted in the death of an ISAF soldier took place on May 12, when two British soldiers were killed and two more were wounded by members of the Afghan Uniformed Police in Helmand province.
Background on green-on-blue attacks this year
Afghan security personnel are now estimated to have killed 86 ISAF soldiers since May 2007. Twenty-four of the 86 ISAF soldiers, or more than 25 percent, have been killed this year. These attacks have taken place in all areas in Afghanistan, not just in the south and east.
ISAF has not disclosed the number of incidents in which ISAF soldiers were wounded by ANSF personnel, or the attacks on ISAF personnel that did not result in casualties. ISAF told The Long War Journal in March that “these statistics … [are ] … classified.”
“[A]ttacks by ANSF on Coalition Forces … either resulting in non-injury, injury or death … these stats as a whole (the total # attacks) are what is classified and not releasable,” Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Cummings, ISAF’s Press Desk Chief, told The Long War Journal. Cummings said that ISAF is “looking to declassify this number.” Nearly two months later, the data remains classified.
Inquiries as to why the overall statistic is classified went unanswered.
In May, ISAF commander General John Allen said that about half of the “green-on-blue” attacks have been carried out by Taliban infiltrators. The Taliban routinely take credit for these attacks.
The rise in attacks against ISAF troops by Afghan personnel takes place as ISAF is seeking to accelerate the transition of security responsibility to Afghan forces. The plan calls for an increase in the number of ISAF trainers as well as more partnering of ISAF and Afghan units, and will heighten Coalition troops’ exposure to green-on-blue attacks. The US military has become so concerned with the green-on-blue attacks that it has ordered units to designate “guardian angels” in each unit whose job is to provide security for troops working with Afghans.
