U.S. Army major general killed in shooting at Afghan military academy

August 5, 2014 | By hromedia | Reply More

Aug 05, – An American general was killed today and 15 other soldiers wounded in an attack at a military academy in Afghanistan today.

The incident happened at Camp Qargha where Afghan military officers were being trained when a gunman wearing an Afghan army uniform turned his weapon against Americans and other Afghans, ABC News has learned.

A U.S. official described the shooting victim as a two star major general, the highest ranking official to be killed in the Afghanistan war. American generals usually have their security detail.

About half of the 15 wounded are believed to be Americans, a U.S. official told ABC News.

The military is in the process of notifying the next of kin.

The other wounded included Germans. One U.S. official said it is believed that the lone shooter was not an Afghan soldier, but somebody who acquired a uniform and managed to sneak on the base, though it is still under investigation.

Today’s shooting is the latest in a string of so-called “green-on-blue” attacks in Afghanistan, in which members of the Afghan forces have attacked U.S. and coalition forces. There have been more than 85 green-on-blue attacks during the war, though they have become less frequent this year as fewer U.S. troops have been on the ground in Afghanistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack and noted that both Afghan and foreign soldiers were hurt.

“The soldiers were visiting the military academy to help with the buildup of Afghan security forces,” Karzai said. He blamed the attack on “enemies who don’t want to see Afghanistan have strong institutions.”

“We are in the process of assessing the situation,” the ISAF Joint Command said in a statement. “More information will be released as we sort out the facts.”

Press journalist for hromedia – Dawar Shah reports.