Afghan Policewoman Who Killed US Adviser Is Iranian

Looks like the woman who shot and killed a U.S. police trainer in Kabul on the 24th wasn't Afghan after all, but an Iranian national, and the trainer was a civilian from Georgia.

According to Sediq Sediqi  of the Interior Ministry, 33-year-old Sgt Nargis received citizenship through her husband (who has also been detained), but not through legal means. Apparently, she came to Kabul with her Afghan husband ten years ago from Iran.

"By marrying an Afghan, she got an Afghan identity card, as her husband wanted her to, and based on the assurances of her husband's identification, documents proving he is an Afghan citizen, she received her [Afghan] identity card, which was illegal," Sidiqi said. "Our investigation shows the way she obtained her identity card was illegal. She got it through illegal means. This is how she entered the Afghan police force.”

She was part of the gender rights department, and had worked with them for two years until her arrest. Her husband also worked for the Interior Ministry in the criminal investigation section.

This is the first green on blue attack by a female.

The man she killed -- 49-year-old Joseph Griffin from the U.S. state of Georgia -- was employed by the U.S. private security firm DynCorp International.

He was working in Kabul to train members of the Afghan National Police, who are, along with the Afghan National Army, taking over security operations from NATO-led foreign forces who are due to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

DynCorp International said on its website that Griffin was a veteran of the U.S. military who had earlier worked with law-enforcement agencies in the United States.

When she arrived at police headquarters she was initially trying to track down Kabul's governor, the chief of police or the criminal investigation department head, when unsuccessful she headed on down to the cafeteria, downed 49-year-old Joseph Griffin with one bullet (because he was a 'foreigner'), and then fired her gun at the police who were trying to arrest her. She had worked for the Interior Ministry for five years.

Described as "unstable" after her arrest, this isn't the first time she was described as such. Sediqi said:

"Her mental condition is not good." [snip]  He said that after she attended a recent training course in Egypt a "foreign government" -- a clear reference to Egypt -- informed Afghan authorities that she did not appear to be "normal."

If there was any doubt about her mental stability, why was she allowed to carry a gun?

The couple has three or four kids, depending on the source.

They are looking into the possibility of militant links.

Sources: RFE/RL, Fox, BBC