Two US soldiers were killed in a joint operation with local armed forces in eastern Afghanistan. Six others were injured, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, Colonel Sonny Leggett, announced today. A person in Afghan uniform opened fire on the soldiers with an automatic weapon.
The incident occurred yesterday in Nangarhar province. „We’re still collecting information,“ said Leggett. „The motive for the attack is currently unknown.“ The injured soldiers would receive medical treatment in a US facility. According to media reports, Afghan soldiers were also killed in the operation.
The longest war in the United States
The United States has officially stationed between 12,000 and 13,000 soldiers in Afghanistan. Around 8,500 are in the country as part of the NATO Resolute Support (RS) training mission and are training Afghan security forces; the others support the country’s counter-terrorism struggle or the RS operation, or both.
The war in Afghanistan is the longest in US history. Troops led by the United States invaded after the September 11, 2001 attacks to overthrow the ruling Taliban. The US government is currently negotiating with representatives of radical Islamists to end the fighting and achieve a peace solution.
