Protestors raging outside a NATO base in Afghanistan

A northwestern Afghan NATO-led base is under attack by thousands of Afghan locals, after allegations that a member of the force had shot and killed an Afghan soldier who reportedly opened fire on the NATO soldiers.

25 August 2010, 12:00am

1 min read

The governor of the northwest Badghis province said the policeman was killed by foreign troops after he opened fire on them during a firing exercise in the provincial capital of Qalay-e Naw.

Residents witnessing the protests said one part of the base has been set on fire by Spanish troops in Qalay-e Naw, the provincial capital of Badghis province near the border with Turkmenistan.

One Afghan protestor, who only identified himself as Abdullah, said the troops inside the base opened fire on them, which has resulted in casualties among the protestors.

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), led by NATO, said they had no information on the incident yet.
NATO-led forces are gathering efforts to train the Afghan army and police, with a scheduled withdrawal of forces expected to begin next July.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai has set a target of 2014, for Afghan soldiers and police to take over complete security responsibility.