nsnbc : A U.S. air strike in Afghanistan’s Helmand province killed 16 Afghan police and wounded others. The friendly fire incident took place Friday 5 p.m. as Afghan security forces were clearing a village of Taliban elements.
The tragic friendly fire incident occurred in the Gereshk district in Helmand. Large parts of the province are under Taliban control and Afghan as well as allied forces are engaged in an operation to seize control over several Taliban-held areas there.
Following the incident, NATO’s mission in Afghanistan issued a statement. “During a U.S.-supported (Afghan security) operation, aerial fires resulted in the deaths of the friendly Afghan forces who were gathered in a compound,” it said.
“We would like to express our deepest condolences to the families affected by this unfortunate incident,” the statement said, adding there would be a probe into what happened.
The U.S. is the only foreign force in the coalition conducting airstrikes in Afghanistan. There have been a series of incidents involving U.S. airstrikes and Afghans, as well as incidents involving foreign aid organizations such as Doctors Without Borders.
CH/L – nsnbc 22.07.2017
Source Article from https://nsnbc.me/2017/07/22/85091/
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