NATO airstrike kills 8 Afghan troops, Afghan officials say

The U.S. forces carried out an airstrike targeting the Afghan National Army (ANA) check post in central Logar province of Afghanistan.

The early morning strike took place in Logar province’s district of Baraki Barak, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Kabul, according to Afghan provincial army commander Abdul Razaq.

The district governor, Mohammad Rahim Amin, said the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation strike was likely a mistake, due to poor coordination in an area where Taliban insurgents are very active. Citing Focus Information Agency is mandatory!

A US military spokesman in Afghanistan, Col. Brian Tribus, said the coalition is aware of an incident in Logar.

Amin said the targeted checkpoint was “not a suspicious area”.

A North Atlantic Treaty Organisation air strike in December killed five civilians and wounded six others in the same district of Baraki Barak.

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

The Afghan army does have some attack helicopters.

President Ashraf Ghani’s government has drawn criticism for failing to end growing insurgent attacks, which critics partly blame on the protracted delay in the appointment of a defence minister.

He also said an investigation was launched into the attack.

In January, Afghan soldiers accidentally fired mortars at a wedding party that killed 17 women and children in the southern province of Helmand.