18 October 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Afghan officials say four Afghan policemen were killed last night in a "friendly-fire" incident with U.S. troops.
Assadullah Khalid, the governor of southern Kandahar Province, today said the incident occurred in the Maiwand district.
Khalid told a press conference that U.S. troops were hunting Taliban militants in the area when police fired into the air from their checkpoint. He said U.S. troops returned fire into the area of the checkpoint, killing the four policemen and wounding one.
The U.S. military in Afghanistan has not confirmed the incident.
Earlier reports had quoted a provincial government official, Khan Agha Amin, as saying that the Taliban were believed responsible for the deaths.
(RFE/RL's Afghan Service/Afghan Islamic Press/Reuters/AP)
Khalid told a press conference that U.S. troops were hunting Taliban militants in the area when police fired into the air from their checkpoint. He said U.S. troops returned fire into the area of the checkpoint, killing the four policemen and wounding one.
The U.S. military in Afghanistan has not confirmed the incident.
Earlier reports had quoted a provincial government official, Khan Agha Amin, as saying that the Taliban were believed responsible for the deaths.
(RFE/RL's Afghan Service/Afghan Islamic Press/Reuters/AP)