Three NATO civilian employees killed in W. Afghanistan

Kabul, July 23 (Xinhua-ANI): Three contracted civilian employees with the NATO-led coalition forces have been killed when a man wearing an Afghan police uniform turned his weapon against them in western Afghanistan, the coalition confirmed on Monday.

"The individual who fired on the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) contracted civilian employees was killed during the engagement. The incident is currently under investigation,"the NATO-led ISAF said in the statement.

The brief statement did not give details about the incident under the ISAF policy. However, a police official in the western region told Xinhua that the victims were from the United States and the incident happened in a military training center in Herat province late Sunday.

There have been 18 such attacks so far this year when Afghan forces or gunmen in their uniform opened fire on their foreign colleagues, leaving a total of 26 foreign soldiers dead.

In the latest such attack on July 3, a man in Afghan army uniform opened fire on foreign colleagues in a military camp in eastern Wardak province, injuring five U.S. soldiers.

In another incident, a gunman wearing army uniform shot dead three British soldiers with ISAF after an argument in southern Helmand province on July 1.

There is no indication or sign of Taliban infiltration into the ranks of the Afghan army and police forces, NATO military officials said last week.

However, Taliban insurgents fighting Afghan and NATO forces frequently claimed responsibility for such incidents. (Xinhua-ANI)