2 US Troops Despatched By 1 Afghan.

TWO US advisers who were shot dead in the Afghan interior ministry by a colleague had been mocking anti-American protests over the burning of the Koran, a government source has said.

The description of events behind the withdrawal of all NATO government advisers came as police said a protester was killed and seven US soldiers were wounded in a grenade attack on their base in a sixth day of anti-American protests.

"The advisers were scolding the protesters and calling them bad names", as they watched videos of demonstrations in Kabul, the source said, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

"They called the Koran a bad book in the presence of the guy. After all this the guy had verbal arguments with the advisers and was threatened by them. He gets angry and shoots them. Eight rounds were fired at them.

"He then sneaks out and disappears. No one knew about the incident for more than an hour because the room is soundproofed."

Asked about the account of events, a spokesman for NATO's US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said: "The investigation is ongoing."

Government sources said police were hunting for an Afghan intelligence official suspected of killing the two Americans, while the interior ministry confirmed that "the suspect is one of the employees of the ministry and he is at large".

Local television quoted a source which named the suspect as 25-year-old Abdul Saboor, who had studied in Pakistan and joined the ministry as a driver in 2007 before being promoted.

The attack came amid anti-US protests over the burning of Korans in an incinerator pit at the Bagram airbase. Taliban insurgents have called on Afghans to kill foreign troops in revenge for the incident, and claimed to have been behind the shooting deaths of the two US advisers.

NATO, which has a 130,000-strong US-led military force fighting the Taliban insurgency, has advisers throughout the Afghan government but commanding officer General John Allen ordered them all to be withdrawn.

"Despite being pulled from the ministries, the military advisers remained in contact with ministry personnel," ISAF spokesman Lt Col Jimmie Cummings said.

"We will not let this incident divide the coalition," he said on ISAF's Twitter feed.

But analysts said it had plunged relations between Afghans and their Western allies to an all time low.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/breaking-news/us-advisers-shot-in-afghanistan-mocked-protests-over-burning-of-koran/story-e6freonf-1226282154758

'Alaykum Salam.

Mujahidin Attack US Base In Afghanistan.



Al Salamu 'Alaykum.
KABUL: Militants assaulted the gate of an American base in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, striking before dawn with rocket-propelled grenades and a vehicle packed with explosives.

All four attackers were killed as well as two truck drivers parked nearby, said provincial Police Chief Gen. Mohammad Qasim Jangalbagh. Two Afghan security guards were wounded.
The attackers failed to breach the gate of the base in Panjshir province’s Rakha district, though they did hit a security tower with a rocket-propelled grenade, said provincial Police Chief Gen. Mohammad Qasim Jangalbagh.
Three of the men attacked on foot, shooting, while a fourth detonated the explosives-laden vehicle outside the gate, Jangalbagh said. The blast hit two fuel tankers which were waiting to enter the base, killing the Afghan drivers inside. All four of the attackers were killed and two Afghan security guards were wounded, he said.
A NATO spokeswoman confirmed the attack but said there were no American deaths or injuries and no significant damage to facilities.
“There was a complex attack attempted, but it was repelled,” Capt. Ebony Calhoun said. She said the guards’ wounds were not life-threatening but they had been evacuated to a larger US base for treatment. The base houses a provincial reconstruction team — a mix of military and international civilians who work to improve provincial governance, services and infrastructure.
Jangalbagh said there was some damage to the base, but it was unclear how much. The base houses a provincial reconstruction team — a mix of military and international civilians who work to improve provincial governance, services and infrastructure.
The Taleban claimed responsibility for the attack in a text message sent to The Associated Press.
NATO downplayed the significance of such spectacular strikes on Saturday, presenting figures that showed headline-grabbing assaults account for only 1 percent of attacks in Afghanistan and that militant activity is down overall.
Insurgent attacks between January and September were 8 percent lower than the first nine months of 2010, according to figures supplied by a senior official with NATO forces who spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the information.
But while violent attacks are down overall, assassinations have increased 60 percent for the same period with 131 people killed so far this year, according to the official.
And while NATO reports little change in civilian casualties over the nine-month period, figures from the UN show an increase in civilian deaths.
Many of the highest profile attacks have been perpetrated by the Haqqani network, a Taleban-allied group operating out of Pakistan, according to NATO.
Eleven out of the last 15 attacks in Kabul came from the Haqqanis and were directed and organized out of Pakistan, the NATO official said.
The Panjshir attack followed on the heels of violence Friday which left at least 30 dead across Afghanistan.
NATO reported Saturday that 23 insurgents were killed in five separate operations throughout the east. In the largest strike, seventeen insurgents were killed in an airstrike in Kunar province. The remaining six deaths were in operations in Wardak, Kunar and Ghazni provinces.
In southern Afghanistan, a suicide bombing killed three Afghan border police officers and one civilian. The bomber blew up his explosives-packed car Friday afternoon while it was being inspected at a checkpoint.
The explosion happened in Spin Boldak, near the Pakistani border, in the early evening, said Gen. Abdul Raziq, the head of the border police in the south.
The checkpoint had been set up because of an intelligence warning that an attack was imminent, provincial government spokesman Zalmai Ayubi said.
Three NATO service members were also killed Friday in separate attacks, according to statements from the military coalition, making 11 killed so far this month and at least 464 since the beginning of the year.
http://arabnews.com/world/article518398.ece