US ‘friendly fire’ kills 10 Afghan soldiers

Pul-e Alam, Afghanistan: A US air strike killed up to 10 Afghan soldiers on Monday at an army checkpoint in a Taliban-infested province south of Kabul, one of the deadliest episodes of “friendly fire” from foreign forces in recent years.

 

The early morning raid in Baraki Barak district of Logar province comes as coalition forces increase air strikes on potential militant targets despite a drawdown of NATO forces after 13 years of war.

 

The bombing marked the second such incident in the area since last December when a NATO air strike killed five civilians and wounded six others. “Two US helicopters attacked a checkpoint in Baraki Barak,” district governor Mohammad Rahim Amin said.