NATO airstrike in Afghanistan`s east kills 5 Afghan soldiers

USPA News - Five Afghan soldiers were "accidentally" killed Thursday when the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) carried out an airstrike in eastern Afghanistan, officials said. It is likely to further anger the country`s president who has refused to sign a security agreement with the United States.

The incident happened at around 4 a.m. local time on Thursday when ISAF carried out an airstrike in the Charkh district of Logar province, which is located in Afghanistan`s volatile eastern region. The airstrike destroyed a facility belonging to the Afghan National Army (ANA). Coalition officials acknowledged five Afghan soldiers were killed in an operation, while Afghan officials said 17 others had been injured, some of them seriously. An ISAF spokesperson expressed its condolences over the deaths and said an investigation into the circumstances had been launched. "An investigation is being conducted at this time to determine the circumstances that led to this unfortunate accident. Our condolences go out to the families of the ANA soldiers who lost their lives and were wounded," ISAF said, declining to provide further comment when asked for more information. ISAF`s Regional Command East also expressed its condolences and pledged to work with Afghan officials to prevent similar incidents in the future. "We are all partners in the fight to create a free and stable Afghanistan. We will continue to work with our Afghan partners to ensure that this does not happen again," the force said. The NATO airstrike is certain to anger outgoing President Hamid Karzai, who previously ordered all coalition airstrikes to end unless previously cleared by the Afghan government. Karzai last year ordered a complete ban on Afghan security forces calling in airstrikes in residential areas and was deeply critical of international airstrikes that repeatedly resulted in the accidental deaths of civilians. NATO forces in Afghanistan have a current strength of over 52,000 service members, including approximately 34,000 U.S. troops and 5,200 British soldiers. Most foreign troops are scheduled to leave the war-torn country by the end of the year as Karzai has refused to sign a security deal with the United States that would permit foreign troops to remain within the country beyond that date.