Afghan pilot kills eight Nato troops at Kabul airport****

KABUL, Apr 27 (agencies) ; Eight foreign troops and a contractor have been killed by an Afghan air force pilot at Kabul airport in an apparent argument, Nato says. The incident took place at a facility used by the Afghan air force at about 1100 local time (0630 GMT), the Afghan defence ministry said. The pilot was also killed in the exchange. The incident is the deadliest of a number of recent attacks on foreigners by Afghan security personnel. "We can confirm there was small-arms fire during this incident," said Nato-led International Security Assistance Force spokesman Maj Tim James. "We don't know how the shooting started." The nationalities of the dead have not been divulged pending notification of their families. Witnesses reported hearing sirens and seeing a heavy military presence near the facility, which generally has tight security. Meanwhile: The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, but Defence Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi said the gunman was an Afghan military pilot who "opened fire on foreigners after an argument." The pilot was killed in the shooting, which occurred inside a facility used by the Afghan Air Force, Azimi said. NATO did not disclose the number or nationalities of the casualties pending notification of their families. The airport is home to the NATO Air Training Command. Lt. Col. David Simons, a spokesman for the NATO training mission, said small arms fire was reported at the airport at about 10:25 a.m. local time. "A quick-reaction force responded to the incident," he said. "At this time there are reports of NATO casualties." Azimi said the shooter was a military pilot of 20 years. "An argument happened between him and the foreigners and we have to investigate that." An Afghan pilot who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the gunman was Ahmad Gul, a 50-year-old pilot from Tarakhail district of Kabul province. In a statement, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed the gunman was impersonating an army officer and that others at the facility helped him gain access. The gunman killed nine foreigners and five Afghan soldiers, he said. The Taliban often exaggerate the number of casualties caused by their attacks. Since March 2009, the coalition has recorded 20 incidents where a member of the Afghan security forces or someone wearing a uniform used by them attacked coalition forces, killing a total of 36. According to information compiled by NATO, half of the 20 incidents involved the impersonation of an Afghan policeman or soldier. The cause of the other 10 incidents were attributed to combat stress or unknown reasons. The officers insisted that so far, there is no solid information that an insurgent was directed to join the army for the purpose of conducting attacks.