The latest in a string of attacks against Westerners in Afghanistan has claimed three lives and wounded many more, but these attacks didn’t come from a nameless terrorist – the perpetrator was an Afghan police officer.

Two American and one British civilian police training officials were gunned down this weekend by an Afghan policeman at a training academy in western Afghanistan, according to NATO officials and the Associated Press. A separate incident Monday saw two service members with the U.S.-led coalition wounded by gunfire from an Afghan soldier in northern Afghanistan. Details of the second shooting have been withheld, and the source reported anonymously, as both incidents are currently being investigated.

In this weekend’s attack, an Afghan translator and a fourth civilian adviser whose nationality is not known were also wounded. Officials detailing the incident said that the Afghan police officer had graduated over a year ago from the police training center and was assigned to their own protection unit. He himself was killed after opening fire on the civilian trainers inside the training center’s hall.

Afghan security forces or militants dressed in their uniforms have been stepping up attacks on coalition figures in recent months, though the former attack is the first in which civilian contractors were targeted. Thus far, 26 foreign troops have been killed by uniformed Afghans this year, reports Newser.

Last year, 35 were killed in 21 attacks, and the year before, 20 were killed in 11 attacks. By contrast, only four attacks occurred in 2007 and 2008 combined.

Afghanistan Police Officer Kills Three Western Civilian Contractors is a post from: The Inquisitr