Wednesday, 6 August 2014
Afghan attack: General Harold Greene was 'true hero'
Maj Gen Greene was the most senior US soldier to die in combat since the Vietnam War
The
US military has paid tribute to Maj Gen Harold Greene, killed by an
Afghan soldier in an insider attack on Tuesday, as a "true hero".
Gen Greene, the most senior US soldier killed in action
overseas since Vietnam, was shot dead as he visited a UK-run military
training facility.Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the shooting was a "cowardly attack".
Officials said the Afghan soldier who opened fire had subsequently been shot dead.
At least 15 other soldiers were injured. Two Britons, several Americans and generals from Germany and Afghanistan were among the wounded.
Insider attacks have become one of the defining features of the later phase of the conflict in Afghanistan.
They have hampered efforts to train the country's 350,000-strong security force as they prepare to take on the Taliban once most US and Nato forces depart.
There was high security at the camp in the aftermath of the shooting
The Pentagon has described the violence as an isolated attack
Correspondents say that the attack raises new doubts about Nato's ability to train Afghan forces
She said he was working "to better advance the Afghans and the cause in Afghanistan".
"He really believed what he was doing over there," she said.
