KANDAHAR(AFGHANISTAN): Several Afghan security forces have been killed in an American air strike targeting the Taliban, The US military said on Friday, with local officials reporting the deaths of at least eight police officers.
Colonel Dave Butler, a spokesman for US Forces Afghanistan, said Afghan security forces had called for US air support during a firefight late Thursday in Lashkar Gah, in the southern province of Helmand. The two parties had supposedly "deconflicted" their forces - a military term for making sure neither side had troops in the strike zone.
The Afghan forces "confirmed the areas were clear of friendly forces", Butler said. "Unfortunately, they were not and a tragic accident resulted. Afghan security forces as well as Taliban fighters were killed in the strikes." Provincial government spokesman Omar Zwak told AFP that eight police officers had been killed in the strike, with 12 more wounded.