Afghan Policewoman Kills US Adviser In Police Chief’s Compound

An Afghan policewoman is responsible for shooting and killing a US adviser in the police chief’s compound in Kabul on Monday, according to Afghanistan’s NATO-led force.

A spokesman for NATO’s forces in Afghanistan confirmed the attack, saying, a “U.S. police adviser was killed in an attack by an Afghan policewoman.”

The incident was described as an “insider attack” by Mohammad Zahir, who works as the head of the police criminal investigation department, reports Reuters.

An insider attack occurs when an Afghan service member turns their weapon on the Western coalition troops they are supposed to be working with.

These attacks have happened in the past, but this is the first recorded time it has been a woman member of the country’s security forces to turn on the Western coalition members.

Al Jazeera notes that the woman involved in the insider attack who killed a US police adviser was part of the police’s gender equality team.

She is currently in custody while officials work to determine the reason for the killing and whether it was intentional or an accident. The site’s reporter Jennifer Glasse stated of the incident:

“For NATO these insider attacks are of great concern, because the crux of their exit strategy has been training the Afghan security forces and building capacity, but as they withdraw, they rely increasingly on smaller teams, on these contractors, on small consulting teams to help the Afghans stay on the right track.”

The latest attack by a police woman on a US security adviser came on the same day as five local Afghan police were killed in a separate attack in Qush Tepa district.