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| U.S. Airstrike Kills 5 Afghan Soldiers | U.S. Airstrike Kills 5 Afghan Soldiers |
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| KABUL, Afghanistan — An American airstrike killed five Afghan National Army soldiers and wounded eight more Thursday morning, according to Afghan and American officials. | KABUL, Afghanistan — An American airstrike killed five Afghan National Army soldiers and wounded eight more Thursday morning, according to Afghan and American officials. |
| The attack took place at 3:20 a.m. in the Charkh district of Logar Province, in eastern Afghanistan. Local officials attributed it to a drone strike, though a spokesman for the American military later said that crewed aircraft had been involved. | |
| “We believe the strike was the result of poor coordination between the people on the ground and the operators of the drone,” said Din Mohammad Darwish, a spokesman for the governor of Logar. | “We believe the strike was the result of poor coordination between the people on the ground and the operators of the drone,” said Din Mohammad Darwish, a spokesman for the governor of Logar. |
| “The area is frequented by insurgents both foreign and local, and drone strikes are carried out quite often in that part of Charkh,” Mr. Darwish said. “The A.N.A. outpost was part of the security belt in the province.” | “The area is frequented by insurgents both foreign and local, and drone strikes are carried out quite often in that part of Charkh,” Mr. Darwish said. “The A.N.A. outpost was part of the security belt in the province.” |
| American officials said they would investigate the deaths, which happened while aircraft were supporting a ground mission led by Afghan forces. | American officials said they would investigate the deaths, which happened while aircraft were supporting a ground mission led by Afghan forces. |
| “We can confirm that at least five Afghan National Army personnel were accidentally killed this morning during an operation in eastern Afghanistan,” said Maj. Cathleen Snow, a spokesman for the American-led International Security Assistance Force. “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.” | “We can confirm that at least five Afghan National Army personnel were accidentally killed this morning during an operation in eastern Afghanistan,” said Maj. Cathleen Snow, a spokesman for the American-led International Security Assistance Force. “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.” |
| Gen. Zaher Azimi, the spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, confirmed in a Twitter message on Thursday the death toll from what he called “an ISAF airstrike.” He declined to discuss the matter further. | Gen. Zaher Azimi, the spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, confirmed in a Twitter message on Thursday the death toll from what he called “an ISAF airstrike.” He declined to discuss the matter further. |
| While no hard data is available, the American military has apparently been using drones in Afghanistan with increasing frequency after strict controls were imposed on airstrikes to prevent civilian casualties, as well as complaints by the Afghan military that it was not getting adequate air support for its operations. | |
| “What happened in Logar might have been the result of miscommunication or miscoordination between the tactical air command and the pilot, which is normal and happens,” said Col. Bahadur Rais Khail, a spokesman for the Afghan Air Force. | “What happened in Logar might have been the result of miscommunication or miscoordination between the tactical air command and the pilot, which is normal and happens,” said Col. Bahadur Rais Khail, a spokesman for the Afghan Air Force. |
| He said the country’s ground units usually have an air force officer embedded with them who is in contact with the Ministry of Defense’s tactical air command in Kabul, who in turn have multilingual officers coordinating airstrikes with the American authorities. | He said the country’s ground units usually have an air force officer embedded with them who is in contact with the Ministry of Defense’s tactical air command in Kabul, who in turn have multilingual officers coordinating airstrikes with the American authorities. |