One service member was killed and as many as seven others were wounded Wednesday in Afghanistan after an Afghan soldier reportedly opened fire on them, according to officials and news reports.
The Afghan who opened fire was killed by American troops, The Associated Press reported.
The incident happened about 1 p.m. on Wednesday in Jalalabad, said Maj. Gen. Mike Murray, deputy commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan-Support.
Murray declined to confirm news reports that the service member killed was American, pending the proper notifications. If the reports are true, this would mark the first U.S. service member killed in Operation Resolute Support.
Murray did say the troops were part of a security detail for a meeting between Afghan and U.S. officials.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families as well," said Murray, who also is the commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division of Fort Stewart, Georgia.
In the aftermath of the shooting, which Murray described as "pretty chaotic," there have been conflicting news reports about how many troops were wounded in the attack.
A U.S. official confirmed to Army Times that seven coalition troops were wounded.
The service member killed Wednesday is the second coalition member to be killed in Afghanistan since the Resolute Support mission there began Jan. 1. A Turkish soldier was killed Feb. 26.
Wednesday's shooting happened after a meeting between Afghan provincial leaders and a U.S. Embassy official in the compound of the provincial governor in the city of Jalalabad, The Associated Press reported, citing Gen. Fazel Ahmad Sherzad, the police chief for eastern Nangarhar province.
In a statement, U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Monica Cummings said the embassy is "aware that there was an exchange of gunfire involving Resolute Support service members near the provincial governor's compound in Jalalabad.
"The incident took place after a senior U.S. official held a meeting with the provincial governor. All Chief of Mission personnel of the visiting party are accounted for," she said in the statement.
The attack is the second insider attack this year. An Afghan soldier killed three American contractors on January 29. The shooter was also killed in that incident, the AP reported.
Michelle Tan is the editor of Army Times and Air Force Times. She has covered the military for Military Times since 2005, and has embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Haiti, Gabon and the Horn of Africa.
