An Afghan policeman shot to death nine of his fellow officers as they slept in a village in an eastern Taliban stronghold on Friday, police said, blaming the attack on the insurgents. The gunman opened fire with his assault rifle after waking up at 3 am ostensibly to take over guard duty at a small command post in Paktika province, killing everybody inside, including the commander, according to officials.
He then took their weapons, piled them in a pickup truck and sped away. It was the latest in a growing number of attacks by Afghan security forces against their own people or against international troops in Afghanistan in recent years, some the result of arguments and others by insurgent infiltrators. Provincial police chief Dawlat Khan Zadran said the incident took place in Yayakhil town of Yayakhil district.
Bowal Khan, chief of Yayakhil district, identified the gunman as Asadullah and said he goes by one name, as do many Afghans. Khan said his own brother was among those killed, along with the commander of the post, identified as Mohammad Ramazan, and two of the commander's sons.
The motive for the killing was not known, but police in the area blamed the Taliban for the attack. Paktika is a stronghold of the Haqqani network, a Pakistani-based group with ties to the Taliban and al Qaida. Although they mostly attack US-led coalition forces, they have often carried out assaults and bombings against the Afghan army and police.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack and said the shooter was a member of the insurgent group. He added in a text message that he took the dead police officers weapons and handed them over to the Taliban.
"This man is a coward. What he did is part of the Taliban conspiracy," Khan said. Khan and Zadran said the killer's two brothers were being held for questioning. The increasing number of attacks by Afghan police and soldiers has cast doubt on the readiness of Afghan security forces to take over their own security as the US-led international coalition prepares to end its combat mission by the end of 2014.