At Least Three US Soldiers Wounded After Afghan Base Attack

Mazar-i-Sharif: Seven American troops were wounded today in an insider attack by an Afghan soldier at a military base, as the U.S. appears set to boost its troop presence in the country.

Al Jazeera's Rob McBride, reporting from Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, said North Atlantic Treaty Organisation soldiers were training their Afghan counterparts at the base where the attack took place. He said reports claiming the soldiers had been killed were false.

On June 11, three US soldiers were killed and one was wounded in an insider attack at a base in Nangarhar Province in eastern Afghanistan.

The attack occurred at Camp Shaheen in Mazar-e Sharif around 2 p.m. local time. Taliban took responsibility of the incident and said that Afghan soldier who killed U.S. soldiers belonged to Taliban group. Both Afghan and USA officials have said the incident is under investigation.

The Afghan defence ministry said the attacker was shot dead.

United States troops in Afghanistan now number about 8,400, with another 5,000 from North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies, who mainly serve in a training and advisory capacity.

The statement read that the incident was under investigation and more details would be provided when available.

Camp Shaheen was the site of a major attack by Taliban militants in April, killing more than 130 Afghan Army personnel.

Whatever the case with this latest attack, it comes as the trump administration is considering deploying as many as 4,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid praised the attack in a statement sent to the media.

It remains unclear as to whether the slain Afghan, who is reported to have been a commando, was the perpetrator of the attack.

Thousands of global troops remain in the country to train and assist Afghan security forces as well as carry out counterterrorism missions.