Man in Afghan uniform kills NATO soldier, NATO says

A man in Afghan national security forces uniform killed a NATO service member Sunday in eastern Afghanistan, the international military coalition said.

The alliance did not provide other details nor the nationality of the soldier but said an investigation has been launched into the shooting. Most of the foreign forces serving in the east are from the United States.

At least 15 foreign soldiers have been killed this year in so-called insider attacks, compared to a total of 62 last year. A total of 133 coalition soldiers have been killed so far this year, including 104 Americans.

In other attacks, Afghan officials said violence over two days killed 32 people and wounded 35 in different parts of Afghanistan.

Fared Ayal, a police spokesman for southern Uruzgan province, said Sunday that overnight fighting at a police checkpoint killed 10 police officers, eight insurgents and three civilians.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement that an insurgent mortar round fired in eastern Nuristan killed seven civilians, a claim denied by the Taliban in an e-mail.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack, which took place near a mosque, along with another mosque bombing in eastern Ghazni that killed two civilians and wounded four. Neither attack targeted government or military personnel.

Both the government and insurgents regularly inflate casualty figures, which cannot be immediately confirmed independently.

The Interior Ministry also said insurgents beat and killed two young boys they accused of spying for the government in eastern Kunar province, a charge also denied by the Taliban.

Violence has been escalating around the country in recent months as insurgents press a campaign to retake territory, which they have so far not managed to do. But the violence has resulted in an increase in civilian and security force casualties.