Nine policemen were killed in Afghanistan yesterday in air strikes launched by the NATO-led force after police and troops mistook each other for Taliban insurgents, authorities said.
The “friendly fire” incident occurred in the early hours, when Afghan and NATO-led soldiers moved into a district in southwestern Afghanistan and police mistook them for rebels, Farah Deputy Governor Mohammad Younus Rasouli said.
“An engagement took place, each side thinking the other side the Taliban,” he said. “The ANA [Afghan National Army] requested air support, and ISAF [the International Security Assistance Force] bombed the police post that killed nine police and injured five police.”
The police chief of Farah’s Anar Dara district, on the border with Iran, was among the wounded and was in a serious condition, he said.
The police commander for western Afghanistan, Ikramuddin Yawar, confirmed the incident and said he had sent a team to investigate.
“Last night at around 1:30, a clash took place between ANA, ANP [Afghan National Police] and ISAF, each mistaking the other side as Taliban,” Yawar said. “Nine police were killed and five wounded.”
The Afghan defense ministry and international forces said they were checking on the report.
There have been several deadly incidents of “friendly fire” in Afghanistan where many local and international security forces are involved in the fight against Taliban insurgents.
The forces have been accused of not coordinating their operations properly.
In a separate incident late on Saturday, an ISAF unit in the eastern province of Paktika fired two mortar rounds that landed nearly 1km from the intended target and killed four civilians, the force said.
“An ISAF unit on a fire mission accidentally killed four civilians, with an unconfirmed further three deaths,” it said. “Four civilians were also wounded and are now under treatment by ISAF forces.”
ISAF said it “deeply regrets” the incident. It is the latest in which the international soldiers helping the Afghan government have killed civilians by mistake.
The US-led coalition said last week that it had killed eight civilians in an air strike targeting militants in Farah. Afghan officials said nine women and a boy were killed.
The coalition and ISAF are meanwhile investigating official Afghan reports that 64 civilians were killed in two strikes in northeastern Afghanistan early this month.
One hit a wedding party, killing 47 people including the bride, an investigation appointed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai found.
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