Shooting at Afghan army base kills 4: official

HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - An exchange of small arms fire at an army base in Afghanistan's western city of Herat on Monday killed four Afghan soldiers, a spokeswoman for the provincial governor said.

Farzana Ahmadi said authorities had arrested one soldier and suspected he had links with guerrillas fighting the government and foreign troops stationed in Afghanistan.

"Four soldiers were killed in the shooting and authorities say probably the soldier who fired had links with government opponents," she said referring to insurgents led by the ousted Taliban.

Two provincial officials said the exchange was sparked due to a "personal dispute" between two Afghan soldiers. They said 10 Afghan soldiers and two U.S. soldiers were wounded.

An Afghan soldier shot dead two U.S. soldiers in the capital Kabul in May, but the results of an investigation into the incident have not been made public.

American soldiers form the bulk of the nearly 50,000 foreign troops in two NATO and U.S.-led forces.

Apart from fighting Taliban insurgents, the troops also provide training to the Afghan army and police.