An interpreter in Afghanistan shot dead two US soldiers, a US military official said on Saturday, adding that the attacker appeared to be a disgruntled employee rather than a militant. The Nato-led force in Afghanistan said earlier that two US service members and one "US employee" had been killed in an incident in the east of the country on Friday, without giving further details.

"Initial indications are this was a case of a disgruntled employee," said the US military official. The incident took place in Wardak province south-west of Kabul, which was also the scene of a clash between Afghan troops and Nato-led forces overnight in which the foreign troops called in an air strike that killed four Afghan soldiers. There was no indication that the two incidents were linked.

Copyright Reuters, 2010