NATO friendly-fire fiasco kills Afghan troops

In a hunt for missing Americans in Afghanistan, US-led coalition troops have reportedly gunned down 7 Afghan security forces under "friendly fire."

"In a NATO air strike, seven Afghan (soldiers and police) were martyred," Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman General Zaher Azimy said about the Friday incident, which occurred in the northwestern Badghis province, Reuters news agency reported.

The area's Deputy Police Chief Mohammed Jabbar told Xinhua that forces were reporting an incident when a "friendly aircraft arrived in support, but fired at troops by mistake."

The 'friendly casualties' were caused while NATO forces were searching for two American troops, who had reportedly drowned in the province's Bala-Murghab River while trying to recover lost supply packages.

The rescue operation had earlier left more than 25 Afghan and NATO troops wounded.

US Navy Captain Jane Campbell attached to International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had earlier said, "We are committed to taking every measure possible to rescue or recover our missing service members. We continue to do everything we can to find them."

The Taliban have reportedly claimed possession of the bodies. Militant spokesman Ghari Yousuf Ahmadi said on Friday that the Taliban had attacked the soldiers as a NATO aircraft was dropping supplies on their base, killing one trooper and forcing four others to drown themselves in the river.

If confirmed, the deaths bring to 465 the number of international soldiers, who have died in Afghanistan so far this year — the bloodiest over eight years of military presence under the American command. US troops comprise more than half of the mortalities.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=110677§ionid=351020403.