NATO forces kill 9 Afghan policemen in air strikes

Birmingham News.Net
Sunday 20th July, 2008

NATO officials say nine Afghan policemen have been killed and five injured in air strikes by the international coalition forces.

It is believed Afghan and ISAF troops were conducting an operation in southwestern Afghanistan and mistook the police officers for rebels.

ISAF requested air support and NATO jets bombed the police post where the officers were located.

An ISAF bombing has also killed seven Afghan civilians.

An ISAF unit on a fire mission accidentally killed four civilians, with an unconfirmed further three deaths. Four civilians were also wounded and are now under treatment by ISAF forces, a statement from ISAF said.

"The accident occurred last night in the Barmal district of Paktika when an ISAF unit fired two mortar rounds, which landed nearly 1 kilometre away from the intended target," the statement said. "Shortly afterwards wounded civilians presented themselves for treatment at an ISAF base, and a helicopter medical evacuation mission was immediately launched to assist."

The ISAF said it "deeply regretted the accident."

While NATO has launched an investigation into the weekend incidents, it is not the first time civilians and allied authorities have been caught in crossfire.

So-called friendly-fire deaths have been blamed on insufficient operational coordination between ISAF, the Afghan National Army and police force.

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