NATO Service Member Killed, 2 Injured in Insider Attack in Afghanistan

A serviceman in the NATO-led Resolute Support mission was murdered and two more members sustained injuries on Monday as a result of an apparent insider attack in Herat province, western Afghanistan, Resolute Support headquarters in Kabul announced in a statement.

"Initial reports indicate the attack was committed by a member of the Afghan security forces," according to the statement.

The insider attack comes soon after the country was shaken by a number of terrorist attacks and explosions amid the parliamentary elections.

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Afghanistan has been a conflict zone for decades, with the government fighting various extremist and terrorist groups. The situation has been exacerbated over the past years after the Khorasan branch of the Daesh* terrorist group established a foothold in the country.

In October 2001, the United States invoked Article 51 of the UN Charter, which recognizes the right to collective self-defense, and launched an counterterrorism military operation in Afghanistan, citing the involvement of the radical Taliban movement, which operates in the country, in the 9/11 attack as a pretext. Shortly afterward, the United Nations mandated a 5,000-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to be deployed around Kabul.

In August 2003, NATO assumed command and gradually expanded the mission's reach to around 50,000 troops across Afghanistan. The alliance withdrew its combat contingent in 2014, replacing it with a non-combat Resolute Support Mission to support the Afghan security forces and institutions. There are about 16,000 NATO troops in the mission.

*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State) and Taliban are terrorist groups banned in Russia and several other countries.