Insider attacks by Afghans against NATO forces doubled in 2012.
Almost double the number of NATO troops were attacked by their Afghan "allies" in 2012 than in 2011, according to the Washington Times. There were 20 "insider" attacks in 2011 and 47 registered by NATO in 2012. The attacks killed 61 NATO soldiers (most of whom were Americans).
One unnamed Army officer quoted by the Times called these insider attacks the "most effective innovation in tactics employed by the Taliban over the course of the entire war."
One reason such attacks proved so effective was because NATO rapidly enlarged the size of the Afghan security force in the hopes of handing over security responsibilities to local troops after 2014. This mass recruitment resulted in less rigorous vetting, allowing Taliban agents to infiltrate the service or pay-off vulnerable recruits.
(AP Photo)
