Kabul (ANTARA News/Reuters) - An Italian serving with NATO-led forces in Afghanistan was shot dead by an Afghan soldier earlier this week, the force said on Thursday, revising an initial report that he had been killed in an insurgent attack.

Tuesday`s incident was the latest attack by renegade Afghan soldiers, underlining the pressure on NATO-led troops as they try to train up the Afghan security forces rapidly to allow a handover of security responsibility starting later this year.

Another Italian was wounded in the attack at a combat outpost in western Badghis province, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.

The Afghan soldier approached the victims and asked to use their equipment to clean his M-16 rifle, ISAF said.

"The two ISAF service members noticed the Afghan soldier`s weapon was loaded and asked him to unload it," it said. "The Afghan soldier reacted by shooting the ISAF service members and escaped from the combat outpost."

Afghan authorities said in 2009 they were tightening vetting for the army and police after an Afghan soldier killed five British troops in November of that year.

A year later, six NATO troops were shot dead by a man wearing an Afghan border police uniform during a training exercise in eastern Afghanistan.

Foreign forces are racing to train thousands of Afghans for the police and army to fight a growing insurgency, with a U.S. troop drawdown slated to start in July this year.

On Saturday, a U.S. marine shot and killed an Afghan police officer after a dispute between the pair during a security operation in southern Afghanistan. ISAF said it was investigating the incident. (M014/K004)

Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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