US general was wounded in Afghanistan attack

The U.S. general who oversees the NATO military mission in southern Afghanistan was one of two Americans wounded in a deadly insider attack last week.

A spokesman for the NATO Resolute Support mission told CNN on Sunday that U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Smiley was shot during a meeting of military and intelligence leaders last week in the Kandahar Province of Afghanistan.

Smiley is being treated for his wound and is still in charge of the post, CNN reported.

{mosads}Resolute Support had previously shared that two Americans were wounded in Thursday’s attack, but had not identified their names or positions.

The Thursday attack happened during a high-level meeting at Kandahar Palace involving U.S. Gen. Scott Miller, regional police chief Gen. Abdul Raziq and intelligence chief Gen. Abdul Momin.

Raziq and Momin were killed in the attack, and Miller, who was in the direct line of fire, drew his weapon.

The Taliban later said the attack, which caused the delay of elections in Kandahar, was directed at Raziq and Miller, who took over last month as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, replacing Gen. John Nicholson. 

Defense Secretary James Mattis told reporters traveling with him in Singapore that Raziq’s death was “a tragic loss for Afghanistan,” but said he doesn’t “see it having a long-term effect” on the country.