Afghan officials say 14 soldiers killed in U.S. airstrike

Deaths of civilians and Afghan army personnel in “friendly fire” has become a contentious issue in the country.

A statement by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense said that helicopters belonging to the U.S.-led military coalition had come under enemy attack in the area and returned fire, mistakenly hitting the army post.

Speaking in a statement, the USA official added that the incident was “under investigation”.

According to initial reports citing Afghan officials, a pair of USA gunships attacked the outpost in Logar Province in the morning hours.

Police from the area said the position was clearly marked by the Afghan flag and other army equipment.

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

Their fighting role is limited to special forces operations now that Nato’s combat mission has ended.

The latest violence comes amid an increase in Taliban attacks on government and foreign targets.

Afghan officials sat down with Taliban cadres this month in Murree, a tourist town in the hills north of Islamabad, Pakistan, for their first face-to-face talks aimed at ending the bloody insurgency.

The two sides agreed to meet again in the coming weeks, drawing global praise.

In December previous year the same incident happened in Baraki Barak with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces being involved.

Between 14 and 39 Afghan civilians have been killed in 28 confirmed U.S. airstrikes so far this year, according to data gathered by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.