2 American officers killed in Afghan ministry
By Nick Paton Walsh, CNN
updated 10:20 AM EST, Sat February 25, 2012
Click to play
Afghan police stand to attention at the Interior Ministry in Kabul in May 2010.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

    NEW: ISAF commander calls attacker a "coward"
    NEW: Two American officers are found in their office dead from gunshot wounds
    The attack happened inside the interior ministry in Kabul
    Gen. John Allen withdraws ISAF advisers from Afghan ministries

Kabul (CNN) -- The Taliban claimed responsibility for an attack Saturday inside the Afghan interior ministry that killed at least two American officers.
NATO and Afghan officials reported the deaths of two American officers inside the ministry in Kabul, prompting Gen. John Allen to order all military advisers with the International Security Assistance Force to withdraw from government ministries in the Afghan capital as a safety precaution.
According to ISAF, initial reports indicated that "an individual" turned his weapon against NATO service members. The agency did not provide the nationalities of the victims, but an Afghan police official confirmed they were American.
The two officers were found dead in their office from gunshot wounds to the head, the Afghan official said.
"I condemn today's attack at the Afghan Ministry of Interior that killed two of our coalition officers, and my thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of the brave individuals lost today," said Allen, the ISAF commander.
"The perpetrator of this attack is a coward whose actions will not go unanswered," he added.
A Taliban spokesman said the attack was in response to the recent burning of Qurans at a U.S. base.
"The attacker is still alive and resisting and a second Mujahid managed to escape the ministry," Zabiullah Mujahid said in an email. "This comes amid our call to all Afghan security forces to turn their guns towards the invading forces who are the real enemies of our country and religion and kill them so they leave our country."
NATO and Afghan officials did not immediately confirm that the Taliban were behind the attack.
The Americans killed were a colonel and a major, the Afghan official said earlier.
"They were part of the advisory mission there," the official said. "At this stage we can't say why they were killed."
The investigation is ongoing, and it was unclear who the shooter was, the Afghan official said. However, it's unlikely that the gunman was an outsider who had infiltrated the ministry, he said.
The attack happened in a separate compound inside the interior ministry where as many as 10 Americans are based, the Afghan official said. Such an attack would have to be planned, he said.
Allen's order includes the interior and defense ministries, among others, the U.S. official said.
ISAF provides advisers in key ministries to help train Afghan officials. It is not clear to what extent, if any, ISAF's military training mission is affected by the attack.