U.S. Soldiers Kill Four Afghans Outside Embassy

U.S. troops shot dead four Afghan soldiers and wounded four others outside the U.S. Embassy in Kabul Wednesday when they mistakenly thought they were about to come under attack, Afghan officials said. The incident came just after Washington raised its terror alert status to high after recent bombings in Saudi Arabia and Morocco, and could prove an embarrassment for the main backer of the fragile government of President Hamid Karzai. The U.S. Embassy said it regretted the incident. Amrullah Salihi, a senior Afghan intelligence official, said U.S. Marines guarding the embassy opened fire when they spotted the Afghans moving weapons at a military compound opposite. “It was a misunderstanding,” Salihi said. Another intelligence official added: “The U.S. soldiers thought the Afghan soldiers were aiming guns at them. They panicked and opened fire.” There were no U.S. casualties, said Alberto Fernandez, a spokesman for the U.S. embassy. Police earlier said one American might have been wounded when one of the wounded Afghans returned fire in self-defense. Full Story