NATO airstrike kills four Afghan soldiers

Injured people by a NATO airstrike are brought to a hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, on Friday. NATO launched an airstrike on two fuel tankers hijacked by Taliban militants in northern Afghanistan, sparking a huge blast that killed up to 90 people, including 40 civilians, Afghan officials said on Friday. Photo: AP.

Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry says a NATO airstrike in the western province of Badghis mistakenly hit a joint base housing coalition troops and Afghan security forces, killing four Afghan soldiers and three policemen.

Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi says the airstrike occurred on Friday in Bala Marghab district.

Police spokesman Roauf Ahmadi, says 15 Afghan soldiers and one policeman were also wounded.

NATO would not comment on Saturday on whether an airstrike had taken place.

On Friday, the alliance said more than 25 NATO and Afghan security force members were injured during a search for two U.S. paratroopers missing from a resupply mission since Wednesday.

Published - November 07, 2009 04:25 pm IST