ISAF: Cooperation unaffected by insider attacks (Video)

KABUL (PAN): Thirty-four foreign soldiers have killed in insider attacks since the beginning of 2012, but such incidents would not have any negative impact on cooperation with Afghan security personnel, the NATO-led force said. At a media briefing in Kabul, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesman Brig. Gen. Gunter Katz said the 34 troops were killed during 26 attacks by Afghan forces in different parts of the country. In order to find motive, each incident was separately investigated by ISAF, the spokesman said. Findings showed that most of the incidents had resulted from personal problems, he added. Katz said about 500,000 Afghan and ISAF soldiers were jointly fighting against terrorism and for stabilising Afghanistan. Such attacks would not affect their joint mission, he reiterated. "We are jointly working with Afghan forces to prevent such incidents. As a result, positive changes have been brought to the recruitment process for Afghan soldiers,'' the German general explained. Also present on the occasion, a US military official said about 400 installations of foreign troops had either been closed or transferred to Afghan forces. Most of the facilities are located in areas where security control has transitioned to Afghan forces. Bryan Watson, director of engineering for US forces, called transition and closure of installations a positive step toward Afghanistan's self-sufficiency in the defence sector. He put the number of ISAF installations, including checkpoints, at 800. About 400 of the facilities, most of them belonging to the United States, France and Italy, have been closed or shifted to Afghan forces since October 2011. The major facilities are located in Shindand, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kandahar and Bagram. PAJHWOK/Ataullah Khpelwak