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Nato attack kills five Afghan troops Nato attack kills five Afghan troops
(6 months later)
A Nato air strike has killed at least five A Nato air strike has killed at least five Afghan soldiers and injured eight others in one of the worst friendly fire incidents of the war and a fresh blow to strained ties between Kabul and Washington.
Afghan soldiers and injured eight others in one of the worst friendly The men died during an operation in eastern Logar province in the early hours of Thursday morning, Nato said. A spokesman for the provincial governor said the bomb hit an army checkpoint, even though such outposts are usually marked on foreign military maps of Afghanistan.
fire incidents of the war and a fresh blow to strained ties between “We can confirm that at least five Afghan national army personnel were accidentally killed this morning during an operation in eastern Afghanistan,” the International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.
Kabul and Washington. “An investigation is being conducted at this time to determine the circumstances that led to this unfortunate incident ... We value the strong relationship with our Afghan partners and we will determine what actions will be taken to ensure incidents like this do not happen again.”
The men died during an operation in The deaths are likely to stir tensions in Afghanistan, where there has been widespread anger at civilian deaths from bombs dropped by drones and combat planes. President Hamid Karzai has been one of the fiercest critics of aerial bombardments and has banned them near homes and villages. He did not immediately comment on Thursday’s deaths.
eastern Logar province in the early hours of Thursday morning, Nato Government troops are increasingly exposed as western combat forces head home. The Logar bombing came a couple of weeks after a Taliban attack killed 21 soldiers in another part of eastern Afghanistan.
said. A spokesman for the provincial governor said the bomb hit This is the first time an air strike has killed so many Afghan soldiers but friendly fire attacks have been a problem throughout the war. In one of the worst incidents in 2007 a US helicopter gunship mowed down 11 Afghan police.
an army checkpoint, even though such outposts are usually marked on Nor have foreign soldiers been immune. In 2002 a US friendly fire attack killed four Canadian soldiers and injured eight others; more recent cases included the 2009 shooting of a British soldier by a US helicopter. Perhaps most famously the football star Pat Tilman was killed by friendly fire in an incident the US military initially tried to cover up.
foreign military maps of Afghanistan.
“We can confirm that at least five
Afghan national army personnel were accidentally killed this morning
during an operation in eastern Afghanistan,” the International
Security Assistance Force said in a statement.
“An investigation is being conducted
at this time to determine the circumstances that led to this
unfortunate incident ... We value the strong relationship with our
Afghan partners and we will determine what actions will be taken to
ensure incidents like this do not happen again.”
The deaths are likely to stir tensions
in Afghanistan, where there has been widespread anger at civilian
deaths from bombs dropped by drones and combat planes. President
Hamid Karzai has been one of the fiercest critics of aerial
bombardments and has banned them near homes and villages. He did
not immediately comment on Thursday’s deaths.
Government troops are increasingly
exposed as western combat forces head home. The Logar bombing came a couple of weeks after a Taliban attack killed 21 soldiers in
another part of eastern Afghanistan.
This is the first time an air strike has
killed so many Afghan soldiers but friendly fire attacks have been a
problem throughout the war. In one of the worst incidents in 2007 a
US helicopter gunship mowed down 11 Afghan police.
Nor have foreign soldiers been immune.
In 2002 a US friendly fire attack killed four Canadian soldiers and
injured eight others; more recent cases included the 2009 shooting of a
British soldier by a US helicopter. Perhaps most famously the football star Pat Tilman was killed by
friendly fire in an incident the US military initially tried to
cover up.
Mokhtar Amiri contributed to this reportMokhtar Amiri contributed to this report