KABUL, Afghanistan - Two U.S. troops were shot dead in southern
Afghanistan when three assailants, two of whom were believed to be
Afghan soldiers, turned their weapons against American troops on
Thursday. Afghan and U.S. military officials confirm to CBS
News that the dead were U.S. troops, and that a third American service
member was wounded in the attack. U.S. forces responded with gunfire and
killed the two assailants in Afghan army attire, wounding a third
Afghan shooter in civilian clothing. CBS News correspondent Mandy Clark reports the shooting occurred inside a joint Afghan-U.S. base in Kandahar province. Thursday's
shooting is the latest case of Afghan policemen or soldiers — or
militants disguised in their uniforms — killing NATO troops.
Six
Americans have now been killed and at least 15 wounded in attacks in
Afghanistan since the Islamic holy books were burned at a U.S. base
there. Dozens of Afghans have been killed or wounded in riots. Two
U.S. military advisers were shot and killed Feb. 25 inside their office
at the Afghan Interior Ministry. Days before that, an Afghan solider
shot and killed two other U.S. troops during a protest over the burning
of Korans at a U.S. base. The U.S. says the Korans were
burned with trash by mistake, and multiple American officials -
including President Obama - have issued apologies. On
Wednesday, "CBS Evening News" anchor Scott Pelley spoke to U.S.
Ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker, and Marine Gen. John Allen, the
commander-in-charge of the war. "Clearly it's been a bad week,"
"but I'm quite confident we'll get through this. The pace of protest
has slowed dramatically. A decade's worth of relationships doesn't go
away in a single week, so we'll move forward." Clark reports
that, while the angry protests which drew thousands of Afghans into the
streets in the days after the Koran burning was made public have died
down, targeted attacks against U.S. forces by their supposed Afghan
military partners seem to be on the rise. While Crocker and Gen.
Allen insist the U.S. mission continues unabated, Clark notes the
prospect of increasing hostility from their partners in Afghanistan
poses a serious challenge to U.S. troops - whose entire mission is
pinned on the idea of living with and fighting with, not against, the
Afghan security forces they're training.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57388257/afghan-gunmen-kill-2-u.s-troops/