A US general was killed and more than a dozen people were wounded, including a German general, in the latest insider attack by a man believed to be an Afghan soldier, US, German and Afghan officials said yesterday.

The slain general, whose identity was not immediately released by the Pentagon, was believed to be the most senior US military official killed in action in Afghanistan since the war there began in 2001.

Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters that “many were seriously wounded” and the gunman was killed in the attack, which took place yesterday at the Marshal Fahim National Defense University, a training centre in Kabul.

Believed to be the most senior US military official killed in Afghanistan since war began in 2001

The attack raised fresh questions about the ability of Nato soldiers to train and advise Afghan security forces as western nations gradually withdraw. The US and German generals were on a routine visit, the Pentagon said.

A US official said the gunman fired on the foreign soldiers using a light machinegun. Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry described him as a “terrorist in army uniform.”

The German military said its general was one of 14 coalition troops wounded in yesterday’s attack. It said his life was not in danger. Seven Americans and five British troops were among the wounded, an Afghan official said.

Past insider attacks have eroded trust while straining foreign efforts to train Afghanistan's 350,000-strong security force and prepare them to fight the Taliban once most US and Nato forces depart.