Five ANA Soldiers Killed, Eight Injured By ISAF Air Strike

According to TOLO News

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said early Thursday morning foreign security forces mistakenly attacked an Afghan Army check-post in Logar province. Five Afghan National Army (ANA) officers were killed and eight others injured.

The bodies of the deceased soldiers have been transported to Kabul along with those who were injured seeking emergency care, according to officials. The injured soldiers are said to be in stable condition.

"This morning, around 3:30AM, an ISAF bombarded Charkh Logar District of Logar province, as a result of which five members of the ANA were killed and 8 others were injured," MoD spokesman Zahir Azimi said. "A committee has been sent to the area for an investigation, the results of which will be made known later." 

An hour after the incident, International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) officials confirmed the incident in a press release and reportedly paid condolences to the families of the victims. ISAF said the ANA soldiers were killed unintentionally, and that an investigation was underway to find out exactly what happened.

Air support from the NATO coalition has been a contentious issue between Afghan and U.S. government officials recently, with Afghan President Hamid Karzai ordering his military leaders not to ask for air support from the foreign forces.

Military experts and security officials have often spoken about how crucial coalition air support is for the Afghan military, which lacks adequate equipment and capabilities to provide the same quality and extent of air cover NATO can. Afghan troops have taken on greater responsibilities this year, making coalition air support relatively standard operating procedure. 

President Karzai has derided NATO and the U.S. for causing civilian deaths in operations with growing frequency over the years. But the issue is just one of an increasing number of points of tension between Karzai's administration and Washington.