A military contractor from Hunter was among three Americans who were shot and killed on Saturday on an Afghan army base in the Pakikta province of Afghanistan, several news outlets are reporting.
The Times Union reports that 54-year-old defense contractor Joseph Morabito of Hunter and 40-year-old lieutenant colonel Todd Clark of Albany were shot and killed by an Afghan soldier they were training, along with one other American whose name has not yet been released. The Afghan soldier who opened fire on the three Americans was also shot and killed in the incident, the paper reports.
News of the shootings was first reported on Saturday, by an AP report that did not include the names of the Americans who were killed. The incident was one of a series of recent "insider attacks" by Afghan troops against each other or their international allies, reporter Kay Johnson writes:
So far this year, there have been five insider attacks on foreign forces, with a total of eight troops and one U.S. contractor killed. However, the number of such attacks has eased after soaring last year — in 2012, there were at least 29 insider attacks, killing 62 international troops. Afghan security forces also are targets of such attacks.
Last month, two recently rehired Afghan police opened fire on their commander at a checkpoint in a remote district in the country's south, killing him and six of his men.
The Taliban insurgents claim most of the insider attacks, saying they have infiltrated Afghan security forces or persuaded soldiers and police to join their side. However, the international coalition has said many of them are sparked by personal disputes.
Morabito, a retired police officer, was serving his fourth deployment overseas as a civilian contractor, the Times Union reports:
Morabito was working with Clark as part of a group teaching Afghans how to be police officers, his wife said.
"It was a surprise attack on their base," Andrea Morabito said...
...In Afghanistan, Morabito was known for the meals he cooked and became a fatherly figure to young soldiers, she said.
YNN reports that Morabito was assigned to the Second Security Forces Assistance Brigade.
Newsday reports that as of Monday afternoon, the Pentagon had not yet confirmed the deaths of the three Americans.
