1st LD Writethru: Erroneous airstrikes kill 5 soldiers in N. Afghanistan

Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-12 15:10:42|Editor: xuxin
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KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Five Afghan security personnel were killed and seven others sustained injuries as airstrikes mistakenly targeted a military base in Imam Sahib district of the country's northern Kunduz province on Wednesday, district governor Mahboubullah Sayedi said.

According to Sayedi, the air raids conducted around 02:00 a.m. were obviously against armed militants but they struck an army base in Ismael Qushlaq area of the restive Imam Sahib district, killing five soldiers and wounding seven others.

The official didn't say if the attacking planes belonged to the Afghan air force or the U.S.-led coalition troops.

This is not the first time that the so-called friendly fire claims the lives of Afghan security personnel.

A U.S.-led forces friendly fire which targeted Taliban fighters in Nahr-e-Saraj district of the southern Helmand province on May 16, reportedly slammed into a police bastion, killing 17 police personnel and wounding 11 others.

Similar mistake has left five soldiers dead near Uruzgan provincial capital Tirin Kot in mid March.

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