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Afghan troops killed by Nato air strike, says official Afghan troops 'killed by US air strike'
(34 minutes later)
An air strike by the international coalition has killed eight Afghan soldiers in a province east of the capital, Kabul, according to an Afghan military official. At least seven Afghan soldiers have been killed and five others wounded in what appears to be a US air strike near the Afghan capital, Kabul, according to the governor of Logar province.
Provincial army commander Abdul Razaq said the strike took place on Monday morning in Baraki Barak, a district of Logar province, about 30 miles (50km) east of Kabul. He says five troops were also wounded. The attack took place shortly before 7am, when two helicopters struck an Afghan army outpost on a hill in the district of Baraki Barak in Logar, said the governor, Mohammad Halim Fidai.
Other Afghan officials also reported the strike, though they gave different numbers of casualties. He said he could not confirm the nationality of the helicopters, but provincial police told media outlets that they were American. They also said eight soldiers had died. The US military also confirmed that their troops had been involved in an incident in the area.
The district governor, Mohammad Rahim Amin, said the Nato strike was likely a mistake, due to poor coordination in an area where Taliban insurgents are very active. Col Brian Tribus, US military spokesman in Afghanistan, said: “We are aware of an incident involving US forces in Logar province this morning. The incident is under investigation.”
A US military official in Afghanistan, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said they were aware of an incident in Logar and were investigating. Fidai said he had sent an army investigation team to the site. “They are investigating and collecting all the details about what happened,” he said.
Despite the withdrawal of most of its combat troops, the US has intensified air strikes in Afghanistan during the past month. In June, the US carried out 106 air strikes, compared to 41 in May, according to military statistics. While a significant jump, that number is still a decrease from previous years. Last year the US carried out 2,363 air strikes. As of the end of June this year, the number was 305.