U.S. major general reportedly killed by Afghan soldier

The New York Times reports that a U.S. Army major general was shot dead by an Afghan soldier on Tuesday in Kabul, citing Afghan media reports and an unnamed official with the U.S.-led coalition. "The officer was the highest-ranking member of the American military to die in hostilities in the Afghanistan war," according to The Times.

Others were also reportedly shot at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy, including foreign and Afghan soldiers. Agence France-Presse reports that 15 people were wounded overall. The major general's name was not released.

These so-called green-on-blue shootings — carried out either by Taliban infiltrators or Afghan army recruits who have grown disillusioned with the coalition effort — have been a common feature of the war in Afghanistan, undermining coalition efforts to train and equip the Afghan army.

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The shooting comes against a backdrop of deep political instability in Afghanistan, with the two candidates in the country's June presidential runoff vote accusing each other of rigging the results.

UPDATE: The New York Times has identified the slain officer as U.S. Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene, a 55-year-old logistics expert. Greene is the highest-ranking U.S. officer killed by hostile action abroad since the Vietnam War, The Times adds. Later on Tuesday, an Afghan police officer fired on a group of U.S. soldiers in eastern Paktia Province, but none of the Americans were wounded before the shooter was killed.