A soldier with Houston ties has died in the war in Afghanistan in what may have been another insider attack by Afghan police or military against coalition forces.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Kashif M. Memon, 31, was one of two soldiers who died Thursday when their unit was attacked by small arms fire in the Khas Uruzgan District of the Oruz­gan Province, Army officials said Saturday.

A casualty report issued by the Afghanistan International Security Assistance Force indicated that the two men died after someone in an Afghan National Police uniform turned his weapon against them.

Maj. Lori Hodge, spokeswoman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, told the Associated Press that authorities were trying to determine whether the attacker was an Afghan security forces member or an insurgent disguised in a government uniform.

Taliban leaders have claimed responsibility for the shooting, saying in an emailed statement that a member of the Afghan security forces shot the two men and then escaped to join the insurgents, the AP reported.

It was the second suspected insider attack in two days, the AP reported. On Wednesday, two British service members and an Afghan policeman were shot to death in Helmand province.

Memon, who also had ties to St. Paul, Minn., is survived by his wife and two sons. The family was expecting a third child, the Army said. Relatives could not be reached for comment on Saturday.

He was assigned to the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne), 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne), from Fort Bragg, N.C.

Memon was on his first combat deployment to Afghanistan as a civil affairs soldier, in the role of a liaison between his military unit and the war zone's civilian residents.

In 2010 he volunteered for and completed civil affairs training at Fort Bragg and was assigned the next year to the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion as a civil affairs engineer, the Army said.

Memon served two previous combat deployments as an infantryman, first with the Marine Corps as a squad leader in Afghanistan, and later while serving with the Army in Iraq.

He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2001 in Houston, and was stationed at Kaneohe Bay in Oahu, Hawaii, while deploying to Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore and Afghanistan.

In 2007, he enlisted in the Army as an infantryman and was stationed at Fort Hood and, more recently, at Fort Bragg.

Among Memon's numerous awards were the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Marine Corps Combat Action Ribbon, three Good Conduct Medals, and the Army Parachutist Badge.

Posthumously, he was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge.

The other soldier killed Thursday was identified as Sgt. Clinton K. Ruiz, 22, of Murrieta, Calif. He was assigned to the 9th Military Information Support Battalion (Airborne), 8th Military Information Support Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.

carol.christian@chron.com