Nine Dead After Afghan Coalition Pilot Opens Fire
Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers keep watch at the gate of the Afghan air force compound in Kabul on April 27, 2011. (Shah MaraiAFP/Getty Images) A shooting at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan on Tuesday killed eight U.S. NATO troops and a civilian contractor, the International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, stated.
NATO Training Mission Afghanistan suffered a tragic loss from an attack, which occurred this morning, resulting in the deaths of nine coalition trainers, stated Lieutenant General William Caldwell, Commander of NATO's Training Mission Afghanistan.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack and has launched an investigation.
ISAF, the name of NATO's mission in Afghanistan, is working closely with Afghan partners "to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident, said spokesman Rear Admiral Hal Pittman.
During the incident, an Afghan military pilot apparently opened fire, turning against his allies in the embattled country. The pilot is a veteran officer, reported The Associated Press.
The ISAF members were meeting at the time of the attack in the airport in the operations room.
Suddenly, in the middle of the meeting, shooting started," Afghan Air Corps spokesman Col. Bahader told AP. "After the shooting started, we saw a number of Afghan army officers and soldiers running out of the building. Some were even throwing themselves out of the windows to get away."
Five Afghan soldiers were also injured in the incident with one receiving a gunshot wound, according to AP.
The suspected shooter, Ahmad Gul, may have had personal troubles and not been tied to the Taliban or al-Qaeda insurgents, his family said after the incident occurred.
"He was 48 years old," said Dr. Mohammad Hassan Sahibi, brother of the shoot! er, acco rding to AP. "He served his country for years. He loved his people and his country. He had no link with Taliban or al-Qaeda.
NATO Training Mission Afghanistan suffered a tragic loss from an attack, which occurred this morning, resulting in the deaths of nine coalition trainers, stated Lieutenant General William Caldwell, Commander of NATO's Training Mission Afghanistan.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack and has launched an investigation.
ISAF, the name of NATO's mission in Afghanistan, is working closely with Afghan partners "to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident, said spokesman Rear Admiral Hal Pittman.
During the incident, an Afghan military pilot apparently opened fire, turning against his allies in the embattled country. The pilot is a veteran officer, reported The Associated Press.
The ISAF members were meeting at the time of the attack in the airport in the operations room.
Suddenly, in the middle of the meeting, shooting started," Afghan Air Corps spokesman Col. Bahader told AP. "After the shooting started, we saw a number of Afghan army officers and soldiers running out of the building. Some were even throwing themselves out of the windows to get away."
Five Afghan soldiers were also injured in the incident with one receiving a gunshot wound, according to AP.
The suspected shooter, Ahmad Gul, may have had personal troubles and not been tied to the Taliban or al-Qaeda insurgents, his family said after the incident occurred.
"He was 48 years old," said Dr. Mohammad Hassan Sahibi, brother of the shoot! er, acco rding to AP. "He served his country for years. He loved his people and his country. He had no link with Taliban or al-Qaeda.
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"An argument happened between him and the foreigners and we have to investigate that," Azimi told AP.
U.S. troops are scheduled to pull out of Afghanistan in 2014.
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"An argument happened between him and the foreigners and we have to investigate that," Azimi told AP.
U.S. troops are scheduled to pull out of Afghanistan in 2014.
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