^{<blockquote id="nmrwv"></blockquote>}

Global General

NATO troops clash with Afghan army, four killed

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-01-30 20:53

GHAZNI: NATO troops clashed with their Afghan army allies and called in air strikes, killing four Afghan soldiers and wounding six, Afghan provincial officials said on Saturday.

NATO troops clash with Afghan army, four killed

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown (2nd L) shakes hands with Foreign Secretary David Miliband (2nd R) as they and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (L), and Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai leave the stage at the end of the opening session of the 'Afghanistan: The London Conference' in central London, January 28, 2010. [Agencies]

Shahedullah Shahed, spokesman for the governor of Wardak province southwest of Kabul, said foreign forces and Afghan troops were both conducting operations on Friday night in the province when they started shooting at each other.

"Four army soldiers were killed and six wounded when a foreign forces air strike hit their post," he said. "We don't know why it happened, but it is deeply regrettable."

He said the strike had targeted an Afghan Army outpost in the area that had been newly established.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed that an "incident" had taken place between Western and Afghan security forces, but declined to give further details.

"We are working with the Ministry of Defense to determine the facts of the incident," said US Army Lieutenant Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the force.

In a separate incident in nearby Ghazni province, ISAF said on Saturday its troops had shot dead two Afghan civilians and wounded a third when they failed to heed warnings to stop the vehicle in which they were traveling.

Such shootings have led to street demonstrations against Western troops in recent weeks.

The United Nations says ISAF has managed to reduce the number of civilians it kills since its commander, US General Stanley McChrystal, issued new guidelines last year aimed at curbing civilian deaths.