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Afghan soldier fires on Western troops, killing one

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KABUL, Afghanistan -- Another Afghan soldier has turned his weapon on Western troops, killing one, the NATO force said Friday.

Such attacks are becoming an urgent problem for the U.S.-led military coalition, particularly because Western troops must work closely with Afghan troops in order to train them. Afghan security forces are being handed the responsibility for safeguarding increasingly larger swaths of the country, a key prelude to the end of NATO’s combat role in 2014.

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Western military officials did not identify by nationality the latest service member to be slain, or specify the location, other than to say the incident occurred in eastern Afghanistan.

Afghan officials, however, reported that the shooting took place in the Ghaziabad district of Kunar province. Wasefullah Wasify, a spokesman for the provincial government, said two Western soldiers were wounded in addition to the one killed.

He said the assailant, who escaped, was an Afghan army soldier from Marja, in Helmand province.

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