U.S. soldier killed, 2 hurt in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Two gunmen wearing Afghan army uniforms killed a U.S. soldier and wounded two others Tuesday, hours after Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak stepped down following a weekend no-confidence vote in parliament.

Wardak's exit leaves a vacancy at the helm of the ministry that has overseen rapid expansion of the nation's army. Afghan soldiers are increasingly taking their positions on the front lines of the war as foreign combat troops withdraw.

NATO's goal is to turn over security responsibility to local forces by the end of 2014.

Wardak's resignation comes at the peak of the summer fighting season. Violence yesterday hit eastern and southern Afghanistan, where militants' roots are deepest.

The two gunmen wearing Afghan National Army uniforms fired on NATO troops at a base in Paktia province of eastern Afghanistan, killing a soldier, according to the U.S.-led coalition and Afghan officials.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the shooting, the latest in a rising number of so-called "green-on-blue" attacks in which Afghan security forces, or insurgents disguised in their uniforms, kill their U.S. or NATO partners.

A U.S. official said the soldier killed was American. A second American official said two U.S. service members were wounded. The latest shooting of a NATO soldier was a setback for the Afghan National Army as lawmakers passed no-confidence votes Saturday against Wardak and Interior Minister Bismullah Khan Mohammadi, faulting them for what they said was the government's weak response to cross-border attacks that Afghans blame on the Pakistani military.

"As an Afghan citizen, I believe in democracy and I respect their [the parliament's] decision," Wardak said, explaining why he was stepping down instead of continuing as a caretaker minister, as President Hamid Karzai offered.