US-Led Forces Kill Afghan Police in Friendly Fire Incident
12 June 2007
Afghan officials say U.S. troops killed and wounded a number of policemen in an apparent friendly fire incident in eastern Afghanistan Tuesday.
The Afghan officials said Coalition forces attacked a police post in Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan, killing seven policemen and wounding at least four.
There were conflicting reports over how the fighting started but the officials said it apparently resulted from a misunderstanding.
On Monday, Afghan police said they arrested 11 suspects in connection with an assassination attempt Sunday on Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The arrests came as the United Nations condemned Sunday's attack in the eastern province of Ghazni, calling it "an outrage."
On Sunday, suspected Taleban insurgents fired several rockets at a school where Mr. Karzai was giving a speech, narrowly missing their target.
The president has survived two assassination attempts in recent years.
Also Monday, a suicide bomber blew up an explosives-laden vehicle at a police checkpoint in the southeastern Khost province, wounding five people, including three police officers.
Meanwhile, the Dutch prime minister said his government will decide this summer whether it will contribute troops to NATO's military mission in Afghanistan beyond August 2008.
Jan Peter Balkenende made the announcement Monday after talks with his Canadian counterpart, Stephen Harper, in Ottawa.
Canada has about 2600 soldiers in southern Afghanistan, committed until February, 2009. The Netherlands has about 2,000 soldiers operating alongside Canadian troops.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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