Four US Troops Killed in Afghan Inside Attack; 8 Coalition Troops Killed in 3 Days

The attacks -- two "green on blue" incidents and an assault on a coalition base by 15 Taliban fighters -- come as tensions flared across the Muslim world over an anti-Islam film that was produced in the United States.

In the latest attack, an Afghan police officer turned his gun on NATO troops at a remote checkpoint in southern Afghanistan before dawn. Four U.S. soldiers were killed before the shooter escaped, bringing the total of coalition troops killed to six in just two days.

International Security Assistance Force officials say the attacker is still at large, and noted it's unclear if there were multiple assailants. It is still unclear exactly what transpired at the checkpoint, according to Afghan officials, who say American forces responded to an attack on the checkpoint to help the Afghan police.

"The checkpoint was attacked last night. Then the police started fighting with the Americans," Ghulam Gilani, deputy police chief of Zabul province, said. "Whether they attacked the Americans willingly, we don't know."

A Taliban spokesman said the police involved were not affiliated with the Taliban insurgency.

Also today, NATO confirmed that an airstrike that killed as many as 45 insurgents also killed five to eight Afghan civilian casualties -- including women and children.

"ISAF takes full responsibility for this tragedy," the coalition said in a statement released after the strike.

The civilian casualties can only increase tensions in the country, and villagers who drove the bodies of the dead to the privincial capital, Mehterlam chanted "Death to America," Laghman provincial government spokesman Sarhadi Zewak said.

"Protecting Afghan lives is the cornerstone of our mission and it saddens us when we learn that our action might have unintentionally harmed civilians," said Jamie Graybeal, a spokesman for international military in Afghanistan.

So far this year, 51 coalition troops have been killed by Afghan service members. At least 12 such attacks happened in August alone, leaving 15 dead.

News of the shooting comes after one of the biggest attacks ever on an ISAF base. On Friday, 15 Taliban attackers, dressed in U.S. Army uniforms, attacked Camp Bastion in Afghan's Helmand province.

According to the ISAF, the insurgents used automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and explosive suicide vests in the late night attack. Two U.S. Marines were killed, and nine others were wounded, including one civilian contractor.

During the attack, which officials say appeared to be well planned and rehearsed, the insurgents destroyed six Harrier fighter jets, worth about $20 million each, and damaged two others. They also damaged six hangars and destroyed three refueling stations.

The last attack in which so many U.S. aircraft were destroyed at one time is believed to have been more than 40 years ago, during the Vietnam War.

All but one of the insurgents were killed by return gunfire, and a 15th was captured. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was revenge for the controversial video made in the United States that insults the Prophet Muhammad.

Prince Harry, a member of the U.K. military in Afghanistan is based at Camp Bastion. When he was first stationed there, the Taliban said they were out to kill him, although NATO officials say he was several miles away, and was never in danger during this attack.

On Saturday, two British troops were killed in an attack in Helmand province carried out by a gunman in the uniform of a government-backed militia.

Recent months have seen a string of attacks by Afghan forces against their international counterparts, who are working towards handing over security responsibilities to the Afghans as international troops draw down.

This weekend's attacks come amid turmoil throughout the Middle East, where anti-American protests have flared up, ostensibly in response to the online video mocking the Prophet Muhammad.

An attack on the American embassy in Libya last week led to four deaths, including the American ambassador to Libya. The protests have prompted the removal of U.S. personnel from their posts in Sudan and Tunisia.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice told Jake Tapper on "This Week" the attack was not premeditated, contradicting top Libyan officials who say the attack was planned in advance.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says the turmoil raging across the Muslim world will likely continue for days, but the violence appears to be leveling off.

He said the Pentagon has "deployed our forces to a number of areas in the region to be prepared to respond to any requests that we receive to be able to protect our personnel and our American property."

ABC News' Muhammad Lila and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

17 mutilated bodies found in central Mexico

JALISCO, Mexico (AP) — The dismembered bodies of 17 men were found Sunday on a farm in a part of central Mexico disputed by violent drug cartels, officials said.

The bodies were dumped near a highway in the town of Tizapan el Alto by the border between Jaliscoand Michoacan, said Jalisco state prosecutor Tomas Coronado Olmos. The bodies were discovered as Mexicans celebrated their independence.

Coronado Olmos didn't reveal the identities of the slain men but said the bodies were naked, mutilated and stacked with chains around their necks. They had been killed elsewhere and dumped on the property.

"Our border regions with other states are vulnerable to this kind of action and the dumping of bodies," the prosecutor said.

Authorities haven't said who they think is behind the killings but the area is a cartel battleground and Mexico's crime groups regularly leave behind such grisly remains as they battle for control of trafficking routes and markets.

Michoacan state is home to the Familia Michoacana and the Caballeros Templarios organized crime groups, and Jalisco has seen violence by the brutal Zetas and the Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartels.

Signs were put up last week in various Jalisco municipalities in which the Caballeros Templarios threatened the Zetas and Jalisco Nueva Generacion.

A shootout between local police and an armed convoy last Monday left two people dead and two injured in the same municipality near the border between Jalisco and Michoacan.

In May, authorities found 18 human heads and remains packed into two abandoned cars along the highway connecting Chapala and Guadalajara, Jalisco.

On Friday in Tamaulipas, 16 bodies were found across the state just two days after the arrest there of one of the region's top drug bosses, Gulf Cartel head Eduardo Costilla Sanchez. Nine of the bodies were found in Nuevo Laredo along the Texas border and seven were found in near the town of San Fernando, where 74 dead migrants were found in August, 2010.

Afghan protest over anti-Islam film turns violent

Spanish rail and subway transport hit by strikes, traffic jams main roads into Madrid

MADRID - Hundreds of Spanish train services have been cancelled, resulting in traffic jams on roads into Madrid and Barcelona, as rail and subway workers staged strikes to protest wage cuts and reforms.

State rail company RENFE said Monday it had cancelled some 300 high-speed and intercity trains. It said minimum services agreed with labour unions meant that more than 50 per cent of trains would run throughout the day.

Workers called the strike to protest a restructuring of the transport sector next year they claim will cost jobs.

Subway workers in Madrid and Barcelona also staged rush-hour stoppages to protest wage cuts.

Spain is in its second recession in three-years with near 25 per cent unemployment. The government is battling to avoid having to seek a full bailout of its finances.

Iran's nuke chief to outline Tehran atomic agenda