Eight U.S. Service Members Killed in Kabul; Deadliest Day in Three Years
- Posted on April 27, 2011 at 12:57pm by
Scott Baker
- Print »
- Email »
The eight troops and contractor killed by a man wearing an Afghan Air Force uniform were confirmed to be American, a well-placed military source said on Wednesday, the worst single-day U.S. death toll in nearly three years.
While it would not officially release the nationalities of the troops, the U.S.-led coalition issued a statement condemning the attacks. “Today, NATO Training Mission Afghanistan suffered a tragic loss from an attack, which occurred this morning, resulting in the deaths of nine coalition trainers,” said Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, commander of NATO’s training mission in Afghanistan, in a statement. “I wish to convey our heartfelt condolences to the families of the trainers killed today.”
Keep reading here.
UPDATE — Below is the AP story:
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Eight American troops and a U.S. contractor died Wednesday after an Afghan military pilot opened fire during a meeting at Kabul airport – the deadliest episode to date of an Afghan turning against his coalition partners, officials said.
The Afghan officer, who was a veteran military pilot, fired on the Americans after an argument, the Afghan Defense Ministry said.
All nine killed were American, according to a senior U.S. defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information has not yet been made public.
The shooting occurred in an operations room of the Afghan Air Corps at Kabul airport.
“Suddenly, in the middle of the meeting, shooting started,” said Afghan Air Corps spokesman Col. Bahader, who uses only one name. “After the shooting started, we saw a number of Afghan army officers and soldiers running out of the building. Some were even throwing themselves out of the windows to get away.”
Five Afghan soldiers were injured. At least one Afghan soldier was shot – in the wrist – but most of the soldiers suffered broken bones and cuts, Bahader said.
An Afghan pilot who spoke on condition of anonymity, identified the gunman as Ahmad Gul from Tarakhail district of Kabul province.
Dr. Mohammad Hassan Sahibi, the brother of the shooter, who was killed in the incident, had been battling financial troubles. Sahibi said his brother had no ties to insurgents.
“He was 48 years old,” Sahibi told Tolo, a private television station in Kabul, “He served his country for years. He loved his people and his country. He had no link with Taliban or al-Qaida.
“He was under economic pressures and recently he sold his house. He was going through a very difficult period of time in his life.”
Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the shooting and offered his condolences to the relatives of the victims. He said those killed were trainers and advisers for the Afghan air force. The president ordered his defense and security officials to investigate the recent incidents to determine why they occurred.
It was the seventh time so far this year that members of the Afghan security forces, or insurgents impersonating them, have killed coalition soldiers or members of the Afghan security forces.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the gunman was impersonating an army officer and that others at the facility helped him gain access.
However, Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi said the gunman was an Afghan military pilot of 20 years.
“An argument happened between him and the foreigners and we have to investigate that,” Azimi said.
Taliban insurgents have stepped up their attacks on government and military installations across Afghanistan.
-On April 18, an insurgent managed to sneak past security at the heavily fortified Afghan Defense Ministry compound in the capital and killed two Afghan soldiers and an officer.
-Two days before that, an Afghan soldier walked into a meeting of NATO trainers and Afghan troops at Forward Operating Base Gamberi in Laghman province in eastern Afghanistan and detonated a vest of explosives hidden underneath his uniform. The blast, the worst before Wednesday’s shooting, killed six American troops, four Afghan soldiers and an interpreter.
-On April, 15, a suicide bomber dressed as a policeman blew himself up inside the Kandahar police headquarters complex, killing the top law enforcement officer in the restive southern province.
-In northwest Afghanistan, a man wearing an Afghan border police uniform shot and killed two American military personnel on April 4 in Faryab. The gunman was upset over the recent burning of the Quran at a Florida church, according to NATO intelligence officials.
-In February, an Afghan soldier, who felt he had been personally offended by his German partners, shot and killed three German soldiers and wounded six others in the northern province of Baghlan.
-In January, an Afghan solider killed an Italian soldier and wounded another in Badghis province. The two soldiers were cleaning their weapons at a combat outpost when an Afghan soldier approached them with an M16 rifle and asked to use their equipment to clean his gun. The Italians saw that the Afghan soldier’s rifle was loaded and asked him to unload it, at which point the Afghan soldier shot the two Italians and escaped from the base.
Before the airport shooting, the coalition had recorded 20 incidents since March 2009 where a member of the Afghan security forces or someone wearing a uniform used by them attacked coalition forces, killing a total of 36. It is not known how many of the 282,000 members of the Afghan security forces have been killed in these type of incidents.
According to information compiled by NATO, half of the 20 incidents involved the impersonation of an Afghan policeman or soldier. The cause of the other 10 incidents were attributed to combat stress or unknown reasons. NATO said that so far, there is no solid evidence – despite Taliban assertions – that any insurgent has joined the Afghan security forces for the sole purpose of conducting attacks on coalition or Afghan forces.
—
Baldor reported from Washington.





















Submitting your tip... please wait!
Comments (113)
RedPillPatriot
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 2:25pmStill waiting to see a moderate Muslim… Tell me if you see one.. please….
Report Post »chips1
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 2:59pmThe only moderate muslim is a dead one.
Report Post »Non-sequitur
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 3:10pmThe only good jew is a dead jew.
Hm, I’ve heard that before somewhere.
And before you start with “But Muslims are ACTUALLY evil, honest!”.. Germans thought that too. And they were just as wrong.
Report Post »Bob_R_OathKeeper
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 6:37pmNon-Brain – You show me were Jews were killing people left and right, if not, STFU muslime lover. You have ZERO credibility here moron and we all know it, show how pathetic you are.
Report Post »let us prey
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 2:15pmHold Karzai responsible and crush them or come home.
Report Post »concealled9mms
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 2:13pmWAY TO GO ADOLPH OBAMMA WHEN YOU CAMPAIGNED FOR PRESIDENT YOU SAID YOU WOULD END THE WAR AND THAT SAVED MONEY WOULD PAY FOR HEALTH CARE . WELL IF YOU DID ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING YOU TELL ONLY IN CAMPAIGNS WE WOULDNT BE IN THIS MESS AND THESE BRAVE AMERICANS WOULD BE ALIVE . HEY LIBS YOUR MESSIAH ADOLPH OBAMMA IS NOw RESPONSIBLE FOR 60%of deaths in the war on his watch and bush had 40% on his watch in afganistan why dont you protest aganist obamma where is your fake outrage at this war did you forget how important it was to tear down our military ?you suck liberals
Report Post »MsFreedom
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 2:02pmGod bless our troops and their families.
Report Post »http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZvr9yv0wOY
calebgs83
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 2:02pmBRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW. No more young Americans should die for these muslim animals! God know we are not going to win anything with our current loser in chief.
Report Post »riseandshine
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 2:02pmWe shouldn’t be there in the first place
Report Post »trooper
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:59pmAnother great idea comes to mind that I have thought about for a while now, Lets get Dow Chemical (the inventor a NAPAL) to work on a new type but very similar bomb that used bacon grease as the gel and mix up a real MOAB that blows up, smells like breakfast, and burns them all to hell while doing so.
Report Post »Is this a bad of me to think this way, I don’t know maybe we should as General Pershing.
trooper
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 2:22pmThat’s (NAPALM) or better yet just say that it’s made from bacon grease and they will all freak out resulting with the same effect, the only down side is that it won’t “smell like breakfast”.
Report Post »trooper
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:51pmI believe in peace, love and understanding but especially respect, BY WAY OF SUPERIOR FIRE POWER, IF IT MOVES KILL IT, IF IT SPEAKS of their pedophile god KILL IT, IF IT DOES NOT UNDERSTAND YOU WHEN YOU SAY “DOWN ON THE GROUND” KILL IT, and then maybe they would understand what we’re only over there to spread pieces of them all over the landscape, should make for some nice flowers when they are all turned into fertilizer.
Report Post »Keep the Faith
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:48pmGOD BLESS OUR TROOPS! Fight to WIN or bring them home NOW!
Report Post »neverending
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:45pmThoughts and prayer to the families. And the shameful piece of crap that resides in the whitehouse is talking about his birth certificate or playing games somewhere. We need to bring our precious men and women home because for them to put their lives on the line under this commander in thief is disgusting and outrageous.
Report Post »ChiefGeorge
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:41pmIts been a long time in a comin, but we need to get outta of there and soon. We have lost sight of the objective and are now engaged in senseless nation building where no nation has ever existed. These people will never be our friends and have nothing to offer in return for the blood and treasure poured out for them. There are needy nations who really need and deserve our help but sad to say this is not one of them. We are the infidel and must be resisted, we will never succeed there and I don’t care if that sounds defeatist but it is the straight truth. This is not winable and we are doing more harm than any good. Now Pakistan is dealing behind our back with Karzai? What the heck?
Report Post »Non-sequitur
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 3:09pm“no nation has ever existed.”
That’s incorrect. Afghanistan was actually a pretty advanced and beautiful nation before the Russians came. Not much of that left now that they’ve been trying to repel one occupying force after another for decades.
“We are the infidel and must be resisted”
Do you really think they‘re trying to throw us out of their country because we’re not Muslim? You believe they’d be fine with an occupying force if they were just Muslims? Don‘t you think it’s rather because we’re, you know, INVADING THEIR HOME COUNTRY?
Report Post »dcwu
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 4:36pmYes. Just leave it. NOW.
Report Post »Obama intends to get the troops killed.
Donnalyn47
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:37pmand where is our POTUS right now? He is filming the Oprah show with Michelle…
Report Post »smak
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:34pm@ Let’s see if the MSM covers this.
Report Post »http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_afghanistan
unsalvageable.org
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:56pmThaks for proving my point. You found it on the internet. Have you been getting the daily updates that we got when Bush was in office from the MSM? The answer is no. Even if the nightly news mentions it, they glaze over it quickly and move on to important things like Obama’s news briefing about his birth certificate. Please put the kool-aid down and think4yourself. http://www.unsalvageable.org
Report Post »smak
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:32pm@ unsalvageable.org
Report Post »Let’s see if the MSM covers this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Of course they’ll cover it.
dinadp
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:15pmThe US should be in it to win it. Enough with trying to bring democracy to this area. It will never happen. Bomb the poop out of them, kill the enemy & get out.
Report Post »pap pap
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:38pmI totally agree DINADP.
Afganistan is so corrupt there will never be a democracy there . . . just anarchy.
Report Post »NickDeringer
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:14pmObama is a horrible POTUS.
He has 2 decisioins on Afgahnastan:
1. Give our troops everything they need to win. Use overwelming foce as needed.
2. Pull our troops out.
There is no inbetween choice.
Report Post »Non-sequitur
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 3:02pmThe war is already “won”. Afghanistan has no more military forces. We‘re fighting the people of that country and we’re never going to make them give up. The Russians couldn‘t defeat them by using tactics that would’ve made the Nazis proud, so what can we do? We have no business being there. We’re the occupiers. It‘s their country and they’re defending it just like every American would defend America from an occupying force and quite honestly, I cannot blame them.
Too bad we never had an exit strategy and many more Americans are going to die there because I cannot see us leaving. We’ve been in Germany for 60 years, and they’ve been peaceful all that time.
Report Post »geonj
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:13pmthis, right here, is the reason there will never be a western nations brokered peace in the mideast. the people our military is there training to enforce the peace are killing our soldiers.
Report Post »J.C. McGlynn
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:10pmNo one would have liked my solution when all of this first started mainly the carpet bombing of that country from one end to the other.
Report Post »rambosharley
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:19pm^5 right on!
Report Post »VRW Conspirator
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 2:09pmsounds good to me…
Report Post »and when we lay that carpet…we should have made sure that “accidentally” the border region with Pakistan was covered as well….
integrican
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 3:15pmWould that be “Persian Carpet” bombing? ; )
Report Post »rose-ellen
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 4:05pmkeep dreaming about the parking lot fantasy.You americans are the the biggest terrorist gong and the afghans know that.And just like your manipulated viet nam vets didn‘t get to destroy vietnam so too at the end of the day those Afghans will still be there and we won’t and all dem americans will [like viet nam] have died and been wounded for nothing[except a media driven revenge fantasy-that had nothing to do with the reality on the ground in Afghanistan-you're here to build them schools and we'll talk to the taliban].The real victims are the afghans[the poorest people on earth] and had these now dead soldiers not volunteered to go kill them in the name of rabid americanism their true religion- they would still be alive.My sympathy goes to the Afghans who are the victims of americans war crimes[mass murder and torture].
EqualJustice
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:09pmTHIS is why BO wants us to focus on the Birth certificate!
Report Post »Lt. Aldo Raine
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:07pmfight to win or bring them home now.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:21pmAmen, enough nation building! Kill ‘em and leave. If they come back, kill ‘em again.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 2:32pmAgreed!
Report Post »KatyDidIt
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:06pmmore blood on the big ‘o’s hands.
Report Post »HairRazor
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 5:07pm11 The angel of the LORD also said to her:
Report Post »“You are now pregnant (out of disobedience by Abraham)
and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,[a]
for the LORD has heard of your misery.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward[b] all his brothers.”
.. and his descendants continue his curse
Silat
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:05pmUnder this administration our soldiers are called troops, NATO troops or anything except US soldiers, Marines etc. If Bush was still in the White House, we would hear the death count everyday on the evening news along with the names of the soldiers etc.
Report Post »We hear nothing now.
The lame stream media coddles their god!
jeffyfreezone
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:12pmI‘ve noticed the media don’t like to mention military deaths under Obama. This Week used to list all the fallen every week. The Obama knee pad wearer, Amanpour, put the kibosh on that.
Report Post »not-a-lib
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:13pmYeah, where are those war protesters now? Bunch of worms….
Report Post »smak
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:39pmhttp://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/04/27/afghanistan.violence/index.html?hpt=T2
Report Post »ilovetheusa1
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:03pmeph u Obama for being such a heartless POS and not bringing these boys home now. they are sitting targets because of your rules of engagement.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:11pmExactly .. I was so mad …all I could type was OUT NOW!
Report Post »rose-ellen
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 3:52pmIt’s not so easy to commit genocide is it?You all had visions of genocide dancing in your head when you all volunteered after 9-11.But they won’t let you and now you feel angry that people fight back.You were manipulated by your own gung-ho media and politicians to want war.How dare they fight back,how dare we not be allowed to [turn the place into a parking lot]as you were led to believe when they fed your fantasies.Useful dupes manipulated to go give up your life for a fantasy.You live by the sword but don’t want to die by the sword.Brainwasshed pawns.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:00pmOUT NOW!
small print.
Report Post »techengineer11
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 8:48pmThank you.. But the fools on this site believe that it is in American’s best interest to borrow money from China so that our kids can work their entire life to pay off our debt just so we allow our Armies to occupy Iraq and Afghanistan? lol Yeh, we are dealing with some real smart Neo-Cons on the blaze.. FOX News has them all dizzy. lol
Report Post »jeffyfreezone
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:00pmGodless pukes!
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:08pm“potus rules of engagement” ….shoot only after your DEAD. SHAME on you BO!!
Report Post »not-a-lib
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:10pmWhen are we going to start treating these murderers like murderers? The ROEs have tied our soldiers hands. Let mowe over these animals so we can get the heck outa there!!!
Report Post »theonefromabove
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:13pmThis is very sad news. Prayers to the families.
http://politicalbowl.com – Political Videos
Report Post »unsalvageable.org
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:18pmLet’s see if the MSM covers this. When Bush was President they had daily counts of the deaths in both wars, and now that Obama is in…crickets. May God comfort the families of these brave soldiers. http://www.unsalvageable.org
Report Post »MidWestMom
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:28pmSending prayers of comfort to the families of these fallen heros.
Note to Obama & his new Sec of Defense: Allow our troops to fight 110%, kick ass & get it over quickly. Or, better yet – bring our troops home & let the Afghans, Libyans & all the rest fight it out amongst themselves. After all, they‘ve been doing it for 100’s of years.
Report Post »Cemoto78
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:29pmget out of this useless country.
Report Post »unsalvageable.org
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:35pmBetween 2001 and 2008 630 soldiers died in Afganistan and we heard it every day on the news. Bush’s “blood for Oil” wars were all anybody would discuss. Between 2009 and 2010 923 soldiers died and you have to search the internet to find out about it. Where is all of this “fairness” that the Libs are so concerned with? http://www.unsalvageable.org
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:47pmMIDWESTMOM, I’m with you. If we aren’t going to kick *** (good, Blaze?) and take names then get our military out of there.
Report Post »MidWestMom
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 1:56pmSorry Blaze editors & readers – I forgot to *** the “not allowed” word. Changed my post! ;P
Sending prayers of comfort to the families of these fallen heros.
Note to Obama & his new Sec of Defense: Allow our troops to fight 110%, kick *** & get it over quickly. Or, better yet – bring our troops home & let the Afghans, Libyans & all the rest fight it out amongst themselves. After all, they‘ve been doing it for 100’s of years.
Report Post »Uncurable wound
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 2:54pmGet out of this craphole country NOW!Its been 10 years,
Report Post »Two words-SCORCHED EARTH!!!!
My prayers are with these families
grandmaof5
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 3:06pmMIDWESTMOM, I‘m glad to see I’m not alone. The “word police” got me this morning in the Allen West story for using words from a title from one of yesterday’s stories. I called them on it and they **** the word from their title again. But the word “boob” didn’t seem to bother them. Go figure.
Report Post »MidWestMom
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 3:20pm@grandmaof5
LOL. I understand the editors general purpose. I‘m sure they don’t want a forum filled with swear words. And most people (myself included) don’t want to read one either.
Sometimes I forget to censor my thoughts – I just type away and forget to translate as I go. ;P
Report Post »rose-ellen
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 3:44pmDidn’t God tell these people that we have the right to invade and torture and kill people/How dare they fight back.Didn’t God tell these people that only we have the right to Kill?When we kill it‘s good when they kill it’s bad.The reality is we invaded them and are fighting the people of Afghanistan.[like viet nam we are fighting the people].The people are right aand justified in defending themselves from the american agrressors.Some ugly american terrorist soldier probably picked a fight with one[like a typical american thinking we can dish it out and never expect any consequences].Well these now dead americans who volunteerd to commit mass murder in Muslims countries in the name of their religion [nationalistic americanism] lived by the sword and now died by the sword.Americans have a double standard.The Afghans are justified in defending themselves from a foreign invasion.We are as unethical and godless in our violence towards them as you say they are towards us.Alquada was a criminal act and our mass murder aand torture of Afghans is a war crime.If there was real justice in the world alot of americans would be on trial.
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 3:46pmMIDWESTMOM, I generally censor my thoughts but actually quoted The Blaze on this one and the ****’d it out. It was okay when THEY used the word but not okay when I used it. Hadn’t had my first cup of coffee and it really ticked me off.
Report Post »Blackhawk1
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 5:11pmrose-ellen
Spoken like a true clueless liberal moon-bat. 9/11 truther are you? Glad your not an American.
Report Post »calebgs83
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 5:24pmAfghans are animals. Their culture is a barbaric hybrid of Islamic and Pashtun teachings. A common expression in Afghanistan is “WOMEN ARE FOR CHILDREN, BOYS ARE FOR PLEASURE”
http://www.dianawest.net/Home/tabid/36/EntryId/1497/Afghan-Pride-Updated.aspx
Report Post »Bob_R_OathKeeper
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 6:27pmRose-Ellen-Jihadist – You make me sick, I thank God I’m not in arms length of you right now because that empty head of yours would pop off, you disgusting pig.
Report Post »highcarry
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 9:27pmhey rose-ellen. maybe you, as a liberal loser can explain something to me. when george bush was president all we heard was how terrible these wars were. cindy sheehan( remember her) was on the news all the time. the idiot pink ladies were always up in arms spouting their crap. now barry soetoro is waging this war, plus one additional, and we hear nothing from these people. not a peep. is it a good war now that it belongs to barry? do you folks believe that with barry running it, it’s justifiable? or is it just a whole lot more of the liberal hypocrisy that we see every day? i think that’s probably it. i hate you people.
Report Post »jhaydeng
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 9:28pmI support the military, but not the idiots making decisions for them! Time to come home boys and get stationed on the borders like a human chain link fence!
Report Post »revel222
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 11:22pmAnyone working overseas or in a high security situation needs to be constantly watching their back and being hyper alert…It’s so important now more than ever!!!
Report Post »StonyBurk
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 8:06amWell the evil Mahdi in the WhiteHouse is keeping American targets available for his jihadi brothers.
Report Post »True to the Communist Washing machine’s black agitator (community organizer) the 0 doesn’t need to get his hands bloody-there are plenty of his Muslim Brothers willing to slay Americans-he just making sure the supply meets their demand. I don’t know WHY we are entangled in the affairs of especially the
I slam ick States. We ought redeploy to the border States–allow the bloody monsters slay each other to their hearts content and the satiation of their bloody evil god.But NEVEr allow a single bloody
freakin’ apostle of the mad terrorist Mahhamet.escape those bloody Countries now controlled by such evil.(yes that includes exportation of any Muslim from any non I slam ick State.)