No sign of Taliban infiltration into Afghan army, police: ISAF

Kabul, July 9 (Xinhua-ANI): There is no indication or sign of Taliban infiltration into the ranks of the Afghan army and police forces, a spokesman for NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said here Monday.

"Incidents where Afghan soldiers have wounded or killed ISAF service members are individual cases and each one has its own underlying circumstances and motives as to the reason why," spokesman Brigadier General Gunter Katz told a weekly press conference.

In the latest such attack, a man in Afghan army uniform opened fire on foreign colleagues in a military camp in eastern Wardak province injuring five U.S. soldiers on July 3.

"I would like to emphasize that there is no indication that these incidents are linked to insurgents or part of any larger coordinated effort," he said.

In another incident, a gunman wearing army uniform shot dead three British soldiers with ISAF after an argument in southern Helmand province on July 1.

Taliban insurgents fighting Afghan and NATO forces frequently claimed responsibility for such incidents.

There have been 18 such attacks so far this year, leaving a total of 26 foreign soldiers dead.

Katz also confirmed that the six ISAF soldiers who were killed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) or roadside bomb attack in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday were Americans, without disclosing the exact location of the incident.

Meanwhile, an Afghan official said that the incident took place in eastern Wardak province late on Sunday.

"There was a powerful IED blast in Mullah Khil area of provincial capital Maidan Shar late on Sunday that left several coalition forces dead and their vehicle was also destroyed in the attack," a spokesman for provincial government, Shahidullah Shahid, told Xinhua on Monday. (Xinhua-ANI)