U.S. General Killed in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A man dressed in an Afghan army uniform opened fire Tuesday on NATO troops at a military base, killing a U.S. two-star general and wounding some 15 people, among them a German brigadier general and a number of Americans troops, authorities said.

The attack at Camp Qargha, a base west of the capital, Kabul, killed who is believed to be the highest-ranking U.S. officer to die in the nearly 13-year war and comes as foreign troops prepare to withdraw by the year's end. While details remained murky about what sparked the attack, it showed the challenges still remaining in Afghanistan, a nation that's known three decades of war without end.

Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for Afghanistan's Defense Ministry, said a "terrorist in an army uniform" opened fire on both local and international troops. Azimi said the shooter had been killed and that three Afghan army officers were wounded. He did not offer a motive for the assault.

U.S. officials identified the dead U.S. officer as a major general. One U.S. official said about half of the wounded were Americans. That officials spoke on condition of anonymity as the officials were not allowed discuss the information by name ahead of an official announcement.

Germany's military said 15 NATO soldiers were wounded in an assault launched "probably by internal attackers." The wounded included a German brigadier general, who the German military said was receiving medical treatment and was "not in a life-threatening condition."