The Taliban claimed that an attack on a high-level meeting in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province Thursday was an attempt to assassinate Gen. Scott Miller, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, according a site that monitors terrorist websites.
Miller escaped injury during a shooting that wounded three other Americans at Kandahar Palace, a spokesman for Operation Resolute support told the Washington Examiner. The attackers managed to kill the provincial governor, police chief and intelligence chief, the New York Times reported.
Killed were Governor Zalmai Wesa, intelligence chief Gen. Abdul Momin and polic chief Gen. Abdul Raziq.
SITE Intelligence Group, a non-governmental counterterrorism organization, said the Afghan Taliban made the claim not longer after the shooting on Thursday.
Afghan Taliban Claims Assassination Attempt on Top U.S. Commander in Afghanistan, Killing Senior Afghan Officials https://t.co/faobAjVl8T
— SITE Intel Group (@siteintelgroup) October 18, 2018
“Initial reports indicate this was an Afghan-on-Afghan incident,” said Col. Knut Peters, a U.S. military spokesman in an email.
“Two Americans were wounded in the crossfire and they have been medically evacuated,” he said. “General Miller is uninjured. We are being told the area is secure.”
Col. Dave Butler, a spokesman for U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, said the Afghan leaders were the target of the attack, and that U.S. officials were “wounded in the cross fire.”
The attacker has been killed, the military said, adding that the three coalition members who were wounded had been evacuated and were in stable condition. Operation Resolute Support said the wounded were one U.S. service member, one U.S. government civilian and one foreign contractor.
Miller was meeting with security officials in advance of Saturday parliamentary elections.
“Provincial officials including the governor, the police chief and other officials were accompanying the foreign guests to the plane when the gunshots happened,” Reuters quoted Said Jan Khakrezwal, the head of the provincial council, as saying.
