Afghan policewoman kills US adviser in Kabul

Afghan policewoman kills US adviser in Kabul

A woman wearing an Afghan police uniform has killed a US civilian employee of the international security forces in the country, Nato says.

It is believed to be the first such insider attack carried out by a woman.

In a separate incident, at least six local policemen were killed by another officer in northern Afghanistan.

There has been a rise in incidents in which Afghan security forces members have shot dead either foreign personnel or their own colleagues.

In Monday's attack in Kabul, Afghan officials say, a female officer at the interior ministry came looking for the police chief at the heavily secured headquarters.

The US adviser was thought to have been on his way to a canteen when she shot him with her pistol.

The attacker has been detained. Officials say they suspect she has links with the Taliban.

Initial reports suggested the victim was a military adviser, but Nato's Isaf force later described him as "a civilian employee" of Isaf.

The incident is under investigation, the statement added.

More than 50 members of the Nato-led force in Afghanistan have been killed by male Afghan troops or police this year.

In Monday's other incident, a local policeman killed at least six colleagues in the remote Khosh Tepa district in Jowzjan province.

Afghan local police forces are recruited from villages, and often include former insurgents.

A spokesman for the Taliban told the BBC the rogue policemen in Khosh Tepa had been a Taliban infiltrator for some time.

In September the US suspended training for local police recruits because of such "insider attacks".

It said it was carrying out checks on whether recruits had links to the Taliban.

Training Afghan security forces is an essential part of Nato's strategy before foreign combat troops pull out in 2014.