Afghans say U.S. helicopters fired on troops, killing 7
Wounded Afghan soldiers lie on the ground as they receive treatment in Logar province on Monday after what Afghan officials said was a U.S. airstrike on the troops’ base.
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Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan — A U.S. airstrike in eastern Afghanistan killed seven members of the nation’s army, Afghan officials said Monday.
The soldiers were killed after two U.S. helicopters passing over the area “came under fire by the armed opposition,” the Afghan defense ministry said in a statement.
The U.S.-led coalition released a statement in turn saying it was “aware of an incident involving U.S. forces in Logar province this morning. This incident is under investigation.”
Logar Gov. Halim Fedahi said the airstrike occurred about 7 a.m. and hit an Afghan military outpost in Baraki Barak district, which has long had a strong presence of Taliban militants. The district is about 15 miles from the provincial capital, Pul-i-Alam.
He said the base was clearly marked with an Afghan flag.
Two hours later the area came under fire from Taliban fighters for 20 minutes as the casualties from the airstrike, including five injured soldiers, were being transferred from the site, Fedahi said.
Although the foreign combat mission in Afghanistan officially came to an end at the beginning of the year, about 9,800 U.S. troops remain in the country to train Afghan forces and carry out counter-terrorism operations.
Latifi is a special correspondent.
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