AFP, Pul-I-Alam :
A US airstrike killed up to 10 Afghan soldiers Monday at an army checkpoint in a Taliban-bedevilled province south of Kabul, officials said, the latest “friendly fire” incident involving foreign coalition forces.
The early morning raid in Baraki Barak district of Logar province comes as coalition forces increase air strikes on potential militant targets despite the drawdown of NATO forces after 13 years of war.
The bombing comes after a similar NATO air strike in the area in December killed five civilians and wounded six others.
“At 6:00 am (0130 GMT) today, two US helicopters attacked a checkpoint in Baraki Barak,” district governor Mohammad Rahim Amin told AFP.
“The checkpoint caught fire… and 10 Afghan army soldiers were killed,” he added, revising down his earlier toll of 14.
Civilian and military deaths in coalition airstrikes have been one of the most emotive and high-profile issues of the 13-year Afghan war, often provoking fury from the government.
A US airstrike killed up to 10 Afghan soldiers Monday at an army checkpoint in a Taliban-bedevilled province south of Kabul, officials said, the latest “friendly fire” incident involving foreign coalition forces.
The early morning raid in Baraki Barak district of Logar province comes as coalition forces increase air strikes on potential militant targets despite the drawdown of NATO forces after 13 years of war.
The bombing comes after a similar NATO air strike in the area in December killed five civilians and wounded six others.
“At 6:00 am (0130 GMT) today, two US helicopters attacked a checkpoint in Baraki Barak,” district governor Mohammad Rahim Amin told AFP.
“The checkpoint caught fire… and 10 Afghan army soldiers were killed,” he added, revising down his earlier toll of 14.
Civilian and military deaths in coalition airstrikes have been one of the most emotive and high-profile issues of the 13-year Afghan war, often provoking fury from the government.
