Two United States officers killed in Afghan ministry

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Two senior United States military officers were shot and killed inside the Afghan Interior Ministry in Kabul, Afghanistan yesterday. The Taliban has claimed responsibility. The attacks appear to be motivated by US troops burning copies of the Quran in a rubbish disposal pit early in the week.

In response, NATO removed all members of the International Security Assistance Force from Kabul-area Afghan ministries. The decision to remove the personnel from Afghan ministries came from General John R. Allen who is the commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan.

The US military has yet to release the identities of the troops killed, although their ranks are said to be lieutenant colonel and major.

US Defense department press secretary George Little said Afghan minister of Defense General Abdul Rahim Wardak had apologized to US Defense secretary Leon Panetta for the attack and offered his condolences.

Protests throughout Afghanistan sparked by the Quran burning resulted in the deaths of at least 25 Afghans over the past few days. Two US troops were also killed in the protests.

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Sources

"NATO Recalls Staff from Afghan Ministries After Shooting" — Voice of America, February 25, 2012
"Senior military advisers killed" — Press Association, February 25, 2012
Kevin Sieff. "NATO personnel withdrawn from Afghan ministries after killing of two Americans" — The Washington Post, February 25, 2012

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Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.