A newly recruited Afghan village policeman opened fire on his American allies on Friday, August 17, killing two U.S. service members minutes after they gave him a new weapon as a present.

The attacks in the country’s far west and south brought to seven the number of times that a member of the Afghan security forces – or someone wearing their uniform – has opened fire on international forces in the past two weeks.

Such assaults by allies, virtually unheard of just a few years ago, have recently escalated, killing at least 36 foreign troops so far this year. They also raise questions about the strategy to train Afghan national police and soldiers to take over security and fight insurgents after most foreign troops leave the country by the end of 2014, Fox News reported.

The NATO-led coalition has said such attacks are anomalies stemming from personal disputes, but the supreme leader of the Taliban boasted on Thursday night that the insurgents are infiltrating the quickly expanding Afghan forces.

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