2 foreign soldiers shot dead in Afghanistan

Two service members of the NATO-led Resolute Support (RS) were killed Saturday in a shooting incident in southern Afghanistan, a statement issued by RS forces said.

"Two Resolute Support service members died this morning when two individuals wearing Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) uniforms opened fire at an ANDSF compound in Southern Afghanistan. Resolute Support members returned fire and killed the shooters," it said in the statement.

The statement noted that the Afghan and RS officials were conducting an investigation into the incident and further information will be released as available and appropriate.

"We continue to train, advise and assist the ANDSF, and do not view this incident as representative of the positive relationship between our forces," the statement reads.

However, it did not reveal the nationalities of the victims under the RS policy, only saying "it is our policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities."

Since Jan. 1 last year, Afghan security forces have assumed the full security charges from NATO and the United States forces after the foreign troops switched mission from combat to support role, which focuses on training, advising and assisting Afghan forces.

Nearly 13,000 foreign forces are currently stationed in the country within the framework of the RS mission.

Source: XINHUA