KABUL: A US service member was killed and another wounded in an apparent insider attack in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, the NATO-led Resolute Support mission said in a statement.
The service member, who has not been identified, was the sixth American to be killed in Afghanistan this year.
The incident came two months after a member of a US army training unit was shot dead by an Afghan soldier in the southern province of Uruzgan.
“The sacrifice of our service member, who volunteered for a mission to Afghanistan to protect his country, is a tragic loss for all who knew and all who will now never know him,” said Gen. Scott Miller, who assumed command of NATO forces in Afghanistan on Sunday.
Insider attacks, often known as “green on blue” attacks in which Afghan service members or attackers wearing Afghan uniforms fire on US or coalition troops, have been a regular feature of the conflict in Afghanistan, although their frequency has diminished in recent years.
Coalition forces have also tightened security and added extra force protection measures including special “Guardian Angel” units to accompany training units.
The Resolute Support statement said the wounded service member was in a stable condition but gave no further details, saying their name would be withheld until after next of kin were notified.
US service member killed in Afghanistan
US service member killed in Afghanistan
- The service member, who has not been identified, was the sixth American to be killed in Afghanistan this year
- The incident came two months after a member of a US army training unit was shot dead by an Afghan soldier
North Korea and China to resume passenger train service after six-year gap
- China’s railway authority said in a notice that Beijing-Pyongyang trains will operate four times a week
- The resumption from March 12 will “further promote China-North Korea travel, trade and economic cooperation”
SEOUL/BEIJING: Tickets for the first passenger train in six years from Beijing to North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, were sold out ahead of its March 12 departure, an official ticketing office in Beijing said on Tuesday.
The resumption of the rail service, suspended since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, revives a critical transport link between the largely isolated North Korea and its primary economic ally.
Tickets for the journey — restricted to travelers holding business visas — were purchased by entrepreneurs, government officials and reporters, according to the Beijing ticketing office. Tickets were still available for the next service, scheduled for March 18.
NORTH KOREA STILL LARGELY CLOSED TO TOURISTS
China’s railway authority said in a notice that Beijing-Pyongyang trains will operate four times a week in both directions on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday while Dandong-Pyongyang trains will run daily.
The resumption from March 12 will “further promote China-North Korea travel, trade and economic cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges to enhance mutual well-being and friendship,” the notice said.
North Korea remains closed to most foreign tourism, with limited exceptions largely for Russian tour groups under restricted arrangements, according to travel agencies organizing trips to the country.
Before the pandemic, Chinese visitors made up the largest share of foreign tourists to North Korea, the agencies said. Tour organizers said on Monday that North Korea had canceled next month’s Pyongyang Marathon for unspecified reasons. The race is one of the few events that has been open to international participants in the isolated state.
