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Five Nato troops killed in southern Afghanistan Five Nato troops killed in southern Afghanistan
(about 3 hours later)
Five Nato soldiers have been killed in southern Afghanistan, coalition officials have said, without giving the cause of the deaths or releasing the nationalities of the victims. Five Nato service members were killed in an apparent friendly fire incident in southern Afghanistan, the international coalition said on Tuesday.
The deaths on Monday were the worst single incident for the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) since five British soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash in the southern province of Kandahar on 26 April. A statement said all five soldiers died on Monday but did not give further details on the attack or the nationality of the soldiers. Coalition policy is for home countries to identify their military dead.
The US-led force is winding down operations in Afghanistan after more than a decade of fighting Taliban insurgents. Most of the forces operating in the area are from the United States.
All remaining 50,000 Nato combat troops are due to leave the country by the end of this year, though a small US deployment will remain until the end of 2016 if a long-delayed deal is signed between Washington and Kabul. "The casualties occurred during a security operation when their unit came into contact with enemy forces. Tragically, there is the possibility that fratricide may have been involved. The incident is under investigation. Our thoughts are with the families of those killed during this difficult time," Nato said in a statement.
"Five International Security Assistance Force service members died in southern Afghanistan yesterday," Isaf said in a brief statement. If confirmed, it would be one of the most serious cases involving coalition-on-coalition fire during the nearly 14-year Afghan war. One of the worst came in April 2002 when four Canadian soldiers were killed when an American F-16 dropped a bomb on them near a night firing exercise in southern Kandahar.
"It is Isaf policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities." A senior police official in southern Zabul province said the coalition soldiers may have been killed when they called in for close air support.
The south and east of Afghanistan are the most violent parts of the country as the Taliban wage a guerrilla war against the Kabul government and remaining Nato troops. General Ghulam Sakhi Rooghlawanay, the provincial police chief, said there was a joint operation by Afghan and Nato troops in early on Monday. After that operation was over, the troops came under attack from the Taliban and called in air support, he said.
"There was a joint operation by the joint Afghan and foreign forces in Arghandab district of Zabul province on Monday. After the operation was over on the way back, the joint forces came under the attack of insurgents, then foreign forces called for an air support, Unfortunately five Nato soldiers and one Afghan army officer were killed mistakenly by Nato air strike," Rooghlawanay said.
There was no way to independently confirm Rooghlawanay comments. The coalition would not comment and Nato headquarters in Brussels also deferred comment.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. The insurgents have intensified attacks on Afghan and foreign forces ahead of the country's presidential election runoff on Saturday. Officials are concerned there could be more violence around the time of the vote, although the first round in April passed relatively peacefully.