U.S. soldier in Afghanistan killed in ‘insider attack’

KABUL — A U.S. service member was killed and two others were wounded in southern Afghanistan on Saturday in what officials described as an “apparent insider attack.”

The U.S. military, announcing the death in a statement, did not provide further details. The wounded service members were in stable condition, the military said.

The name of the soldier who was killed was being withheld so the next of kin could be notified.

A U.S. military officer familiar with the attack said it occurred at a small base in Tarinkot, a town in Uruzgan province, where roughly 150 soldiers who are stationed in Kandahar often rotate through to train Afghan soldiers. The outpost is one of several in the country where the Army’s Security Force Assistance Brigade is stationed. The unit, tasked with training and assisting the Afghan National Army, is one of the leading elements of the Trump administration’s new strategy in Afghanistan.

The death, the third U.S. military fatality in Afghanistan this year, was a reminder that American soldiers remain in the line of fire, though the war is now largely fought by Afghan security forces backed by U.S. air power.

It also offered a reminder that insider attacks have been a recurring problem in Afghanistan, carried out by Afghan security forces loyal to the Taliban or harboring grievances against

U.S. troops.

About 150 troops from the U.S.-led coalition have been killed in such attacks during the nearly 17-yearold war, according to data from the U.S. military, with the number of the attacks peaking in 2012.

The assault Saturday is the first insider attack of 2018 against U.S. troops.