US airstrike kills 14 Afghan soldiers

A USA airstrike in Afghanistan has targeted an army checkpoint manned by Afghan soldiers in the country’s central Logar Province, killing at least ten service members.

“At 6.00am on Monday, two USA helicopters attacked a checkpoint in Baraki Barak district of Logar province”, district governor Mohammad Rahim Amin told AFP.

A US military spokesman in Afghanistan, Col. Brian Tribus reassured that the accident is under investigation and the guilty ones will be found.

Logar police chief Mohammad Douod Ahmadi confirmed the casualty figures, though other Afghan officials gave slightly different numbers.

A similar North Atlantic Treaty Organisation air strike in the area in December killed five civilians and wounded six others.

The Taliban shot at the rescue team, forcing them to leave the bodies behind.

Since the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation combat mission was wound up at the end of 2014, their principal mission is to “train, advise and assist” Afghan forces.

Monday’s incident comes as Taliban insurgents step up attacks on government and foreign targets during their summer offensive despite official efforts to jumpstart peace talks. There are conflicting reports as to the number of casualties in the latest “friendly fire” incident with the Business Insider claiming 14 fatalities in the encounter.

Afghan soldiers are also sometimes blamed for such incidents.

In June previous year, five US Special Forces operatives, an Afghan soldier and an interpreter were killed by a B-1 Lancer bomber’s misdirected payload in Zabul province. Afghan troops, however, still depend on US and allied forces in areas like air support, intelligence gathering and logistics.