Afghanistan

"Friendly fire" kills nine Afghans

Article published on the 2008-07-20 Latest update 2008-07-20 13:18 TU

At least nine Afghan police and civilians have died in attacks involving coalition forces, according to officials. Four Afghan police and five civilians died in an apparently mistaken air strike in Farah province. The incident occurred before dawn when Afghan and international soldiers moved into a district in the southwest of the country without informing police, the deputy governor of Farah province said.

"An engagement took place, each side thinking the other was the Taliban," said Mohammad Younus Rasouli, adding that NATO's International Security Assistance Force had carried out the strikes, but ISAF said it was an operation by the separate US-led coalition.

Rasouli said the police chief of Farah's Anar Dara district, on the border with Iran, was among the wounded and was in a serious condition.

The incident comes as US presidential hopeful Barack Obama is visiting Afghanistan to find out how international efforts against extremist militants trying to overthrow the Afghan government are progressing.

There have been several deadly incidents of "friendly fire" in Afghanistan, where many local and international security forces are involved in a growing fight against Taliban insurgents.

Earlier this month a British helicopter mistakenly opened fire on a group of British soldiers in Helmand province, injuring nine of them, three seriously, the defence ministry said.