British Solider, 11 Afghans Killed in Separate Attacks

Posted November 12th, 2012 at 1:25 am (UTC-5)
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A gunman wearing an Afghan army uniform has shot and killed a member of the U.S.-led coalition forces fighting in Afghanistan.

British officials have identified the soldier killed Sunday in restive Helmand province as a member of The Royal Scots Borderers.

The killing is the latest in a series of insider attacks that have fractured the trust between NATO forces and their Afghan allies in the fight against the Taliban.

Separately, Afghan officials said 11 civilians were killed by explosions in the east and south. A roadside bomb blast killed six members of a family, including a mother and her hours-old baby.

Police say the family was heading home from the hospital where the mother had given birth when their truck hit the bomb Sunday in eastern Khost province.

Also Sunday, three people were killed in southern Helmand province when their vehicle detonated a land mine.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the blasts. However, roadside bombs are the weapons of choice for Taliban insurgents fighting to bring down the Western-backed government in Kabul. The bombs often miss their military targets and hit civilians who use the same roads.