A U.S. airstrike killed at least nine "local security personnel aligned with Afghan Government forces," a spokesman for the U.S. military confirmed late Friday.
U.S. forces apparently mistook the police for the Taliban militants both the U.S. and Afghan forces were fighting.
The airstrike took place in the Gereshk district of Helmand province, where U.S. and Afghan forces have been locked in fierce fighting with the Taliban. Local media reports put the number of dead at 17. A U.S. military statement said that an investigation would be conducted "to determine the specific circumstances that led to this incident."
Helmand's governor, Hayatullah Hayat, said two commanders of the national police were among those killed, and that many bodies were still under rubble, making an exact toll hard to determine.
According to Hayat, the Taliban had recently seized a number of police posts and captured Humvees stationed there, making it easier for aircraft to confuse the two groups.
"The police had recaptured a post from the enemy and it was hit by mistake with the belief that the Taliban fighters were still dug in there after they took the post on Thursday," said Hayat, who was reached by phone. He claimed that 70 Taliban fighters had also been killed in the offensive, which took place around midday Friday.
A U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because official details about the strike had yet to be released, said that U.S. Marines in Helmand had helped coordinate the strike with Afghan security forces. The official said that the area had recently been taken over by the Taliban and that their Afghan counterparts indicated that the positions were not friendly or manned by government forces.
When aircraft were overhead, they saw a group of individuals not wearing uniforms and firing in what appeared to be the wrong direction, the official added.
The U.S. air war in Afghanistan has returned to a level on intensity not seen since the troop surge in 2012, when 80,000 U.S. forces were spread across the country, going on patrols and engaging the Taliban on a daily basis.
Data released this month by the Air Force says that as of June 30, U.S. and coalition aircraft had dropped or expended 1,634 munitions in Afghanistan during the first six months of 2017. By comparison, that figure was 298 in 2015 and 545 in 2016.
The sharp upward trend is due in part to new powers given to commanders on the ground last June by then-President Barack Obama. U.S. forces had previously only been able to conduct airstrikes when troops, Afghan or American, were deemed to be directly under threat.
U.S. Navy Capt. Bill Salvin, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said this week that 70 percent of all airstrikes in the country were directed against the Taliban, while about 20 percent were part of counterterror operations, such as going after the Islamic State's Afghan affiliate.
The Washington Post
Sat Jul 22 2017
Taliban had recently seized a number of police posts and captured Humvees stationed there, making it easier for aircraft to confuse the two groups.
PM tiba di Kota Kinabalu untuk lawatan sehari
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tiba di Kota Kinabalu malam tadi untuk lawatan kerja sehari ke Sabah.
Bayaran yuran latihan e-sukan layak nikmati pelepasan cukai mulai tahun depan - Hannah
Perbelanjaan yuran keahlian gimnasium, mengikuti latihan atau kelas e-sukan, ekuestrian, renang, sukan bermotor dan taekwondo layak untuk menikmati pelepasan cukai sehingga RM1,000 mulai tahun depan.
PM Anwar beri sumbangan kepada Nur Khayla Azzahra
Sumbangan berkenaan disampaikan Setiausaha Politik beliau Farhan Fauzi yang mewakilinya bertemu Nur Khayla Azzahra dan keluarganya.
Fasa pertama Litar Pasir Gudang dijangka siap dalam tempoh tiga tahun - Tunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Panglima Johor Tunku Abdul Rahman Sultan Ibrahim menjangkakan fasa pertama 'Johor Circuit' di Litar Pasir Gudang siap dalam tempoh dua hingga tiga tahun.
MYStartup lancar program pemecut ketiga perkasa syarikat pemula niaga
MYStartup terus memperkasa syarikat pemula niaga di Malaysia dengan memulakan program pemecut ketiganya MYStartup Accelerator Kohort 3.
Perdagangan Malaysia meningkat 7.1% tahun ke tahun kepada RM690.59 bilion - MITI
Perdagangan Malaysia bagi Januari hingga Mac 2024 mengekalkan trend peningkatan, merekodkan pertumbuhan 7.1 peratus tahun ke tahun kepada RM690.59 bilion, dengan lebihan dagangan RM34.22 bilion.
Keselamatan makanan, perubahan iklim agenda utama Malaysia selaku Pengerusi ASEAN
Memperkukuh keselamatan makanan serantau dan menangani cabaran mendesak perubahan iklim adalah antara agenda utama yang akan diketengahkan Malaysia apabila memegang tampuk Pengerusi ASEAN.
Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: 'Konflik Israel-Iran bukan urusan kami' - FFC
Misi Break the Siege of Gaza Freedom Flotilla tetap akan diteruskan sekiranya konflik di antara Israel dan Iran terus meningkat.
KKR harap projek naik taraf 3 jalan di Johor dilaksana tahun depan - Ahmad Maslan
Kementerian Kerja Raya (KKR) berharap kerja naik taraf tiga jalan di Johor dapat dilaksanakan tahun hadapan susulan pertambahan kenderaan menggunakan jalan tersebut.
KDNK Malaysia suku pertama dianggar berkembang 3.9% dipacu sektor perkhidmatan - DOSM
Sektor pembinaan menunjukkan pertumbuhan yang signifikan sebanyak 9.8 peratus berbanding 3.6 peratus pada suku tahun sebelumnya, terutama dipacu oleh subsektor kejuruteraan awam.