LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A U.S. air strike killed as many as eight Afghan policemen outside the embattled provincial capital of Uruzgan province, Afghan officials said on Monday, as security forces, supported by U.S. strikes, battle resurgent Taliban militants.

An initial air strike late on Sunday killed one policeman, while a follow up strike targeted first responders, killing at least seven, said Rahimullah Khan, commander of the reserve police unit in Uruzgan.

Another official, Uruzgan deputy police chief Mohammed Qawi Omari, put the death toll at six but also reported the police were killed by a foreign air strike.

The U.S. military command in Kabul confirmed its warplanes had conducted an air strike in the area, but said they targeted “individuals firing on, and posing a threat to” Afghan national security forces.

“We don’t have any further information on who those individuals might have been or why they were attacking ANDSF (Afghan national defense and security forces),” U.S. military spokesman Brigadier General Charles Cleveland said in a statement.

“U.S., coalition, and Afghan forces have the right to self-defense and in this case were responding to an immediate threat.”

Afghan officials said they were investigating the attack and were in contact with the U.S.-led coalition.

Afghan security forces, supported by American air strikes and international military advisers, are battling Taliban militants who have fought a 15-year insurgency against the Western-backed government in Kabul.

Taliban fighters briefly entered Uruzgan’s capital city, Tarin Kot, in early September, according to provincial officials, before being pushed back by security forces.</s>A member of the Afghan police departs a military checkpoint in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, in March 2012. U.S. airstrikes in Uruzgan province in central Afghanistan killed eight Afghan police officers, an Afghan official said Monday, Sept. 19, 2016. U.S. officials said strikes were carried out in response to an “immediate threat.” Matthew Leistikow/U.S. Navy

KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S. airstrikes in Uruzgan province in central Afghanistan killed eight Afghan police officers, an Afghan official said Monday. U.S. officials said strikes were carried out in response to an “immediate threat.”

Two strikes were conducted Sunday on a checkpoint in the Saki area of Tirin Kot, the provincial capital, along the Uruzgan-Kandahar highway, said highway police commander Haji Rahimullah. The first attack killed a police officer, he said.

“When we sent more police to investigate the issue, the outpost was bombed again and it killed seven more,” Rahimullah said.

The Taliban had raised their signature white flags “everywhere in nearby areas,” he said, but the positions targeted belonged to the Afghan police.

In a statement, Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland, spokesman for the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, said the strikes targeted “individuals firing on, and posing a threat to, our Afghan partners.”

“We don’t have any further information on who those individuals might have been or why they were attacking ANDSF (Afghan national defense and security forces),” Cleveland said. “U.S., coalition and Afghan forces have the right to self-defense, and in this case were responding to an immediate threat.”

The Afghan forces have taken on the primary responsibility for fighting the Taliban, who have waged a 15-year war against the Western-backed Kabul government. U.S. and international military advisers provide training, advice and assistance, and U.S forces are authorized to conduct strikes to prevent strategic losses as well as to protect Afghan and coalition forces.

Online, the Taliban appeared to be playing the strikes for their own propaganda, claiming they were called by Gen. Abdul Raziq. Raziq, the police chief of neighboring Kandahar province, has led a brutal campaign against the Taliban.The police chief has been lauded by U.S. and Afghan officials for his campaign against the Taliban. Earlier this month, he and some of his troops had deployed to Tirin Kot to help push out Taliban fighters who had besieged the police headquarters and governor’s compound there.

Elsewhere in southern Afghanistan, special units of the National Directorate of Security raided an al-Qaida hideout in a village in Zabul province’s Mizan district, killing five Pakistani fighters and capturing two others, the government said in a statement Monday.

Among the items seized were two suicide vests, a number of firearms, five grenades, communications equipment and computers, two Pakistani ID cards and three motorcycles, the government said.</s>Afghan official: US airstrikes kill 8 policemen in south

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan official says at least eight Afghan police officers have been killed in two U.S. airstrikes in southern Uruzgan province in what was apparently a friendly-fire incident.

Rahimullah Khan, a provincial operational commander, says the first airstrike killed one policeman at a checkpoint outside the provincial capital of Tirin Kot, while the second, which struck the same area, killed seven others.

Khan says the airstrikes took place on Sunday afternoon around Tirin Kot. The Taliban have been advancing on the city in recent weeks.

A U.S. military spokesman confirmed that U.S. forces carried out an airstrike, saying they sought to assist Afghan troops who were fired on by the Taliban.

Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland says he doesn't "have any further information" on who the casualties may have been.</s>Up to eight policemen have been killed in Afghanistan as a result of US airstrikes, officials told media. The US has confirmed one airstrike, but insists the assault was in response to a threat.

An initial airstrike killed one policeman late Sunday, while a follow-up strike targeting first responders killed at least seven others, said Rahimullah Khan, commander of the reserve police unit in Uruzgan, according to Reuters.

Afghanistan’s ToloNews also reported that the eight Afghan National Police (ANP) officers were killed at their checkpoint in central Uruzgan province.

“The enemies were far, about 800 meters from our check posts and their flags were up and they were coming and bombing the police. It seems that it was ordered or they made a mistake. Anyone who was involved in this should be punished,” an anonymous official told the news outlet.

One of the soldiers who survived the attack, identified as Torjan, said: “I was at my check post. The first attack killed our colleagues and while we were trying to pull-out our colleagues from the check post than another attack happened.”

The US military command in Kabul has confirmed its warplanes conducted an airstrike in the area, but said those targeted were “individuals firing on, and posing a threat to” Afghan national security forces.

“We don’t have any further information on who those individuals might have been or why they were attacking ANDSF [Afghan national defense and security forces],” US military spokesman Brigadier General Charles Cleveland said in a statement.

“US, coalition, and Afghan forces have the right to self defense and in this case were responding to an immediate threat,” Cleveland added as quoted by Reuters.

Afghan officials said they are investigating the attack and communicating with the US-led coalition.

Afghan security forces, with the support of US airstrikes and international advisers, continue to battle Taliban militants in the country. The group has been fighting a 15-year insurgency against the Western-backed government.

This comes after an airstrike by the US-led coalition in Syria killed 62 government soldiers and injured 100 others amid a fragile ceasefire on Saturday. The US military admitted it may have unintentionally struck Syrian troops while carrying out a raid against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants.

Russia has Exposed Cabal Support of the Islamic State in Syria — 17 Select Headlines</s>At least 8 Afghan policemen lost their lives in an airstrike conducted by the foreign forces in southern parts of the country, local officials said Monday.

The provincial security officials in Uruzgan said the airstrike was conducted late on Saturday night on Kandahar-Uruzgan highway.

Gen. Rahimullah Khan, commander of the Kandahar-Uruzgan highway, said the airstrike targeted a security check post on the highway late on Saturday night.

He said the dead body of a policeman is still missing following the airstrike and all three rooms in the check post were destroyed in the raid.

The main circumstances surrounding the strike have not been ascertained so far.

The highway located between Kandahar and Uruzgan is one of the most volatile highways in southern parts of the country where the Taliban insurgents are actively operating.

The US forces based in Afghanistan are regularly conducting counter-terrorism operations, mainly by conducting airstrikes to suppress the growing insurgency activities by the anti-government armed militant groups.

The Obama administration granted broader role to the US forces in Afghanistan earlier this year amid rampant Taliban-led insurgency in the country.

Follow Khaama Press (KP) | Afghan News Agency on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook. Stay updated via RSS</s>Afghanistan has launched an investigation into the alleged airstrike by the US forces on Afghan policemen that left at least 8 policemen dead.

The Ministry of Interior of Afghanistan (MoI) said an investigation is underway regarding the alleged airstrike that took place in southern Uruzgan province.

The Ministry further added that the circumstances surrounding the alleged airstrike will be ascertained once the investigation concludes.

MoI also added that the findings of the Ministry will be shared with the people once it is completed.

The investigation has been launched a day after the commander of the highway forces on Kandahar-Uruzgan highway said the airstrike by US forces left at least 8 policemen dead.

The airstrike was launched amid deteriorating security situation in Uruzgan province.

The Taliban militants earlier launched a coordinated attack on the provincial capital Tarinkot and put the strategic city on the verge of collapse.

In the meantime the US forces in Afghanistan have resumed airstrikes against the Taliban insurgents under the new broader role granted by the Obama administration earlier this year.

Follow Khaama Press (KP) | Afghan News Agency on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook. Stay updated via RSS</s>A US air raid has killed eight Afghan policemen who were battling the Taliban, officials said Monday, the first apparent "friendly fire" incident since American forces were given greater powers to strike at insurgents.

The incident happened on Sunday in the Tali area of Uruzgan province. The Taliban recently attempted to overrun the provincial capital Tarin Kot in a major security breach.

"The first air strike killed one policeman. When other policemen came to help, they came under a second air strike, killing seven of them," Rahimullah Khan, highway police commander in the southern province, told AFP.

Mohammad Sediq, a policeman who survived the attack, said their forces were "engaged in close fighting" with the Taliban when they were bombed.

The NATO command centre in Kabul confirmed US warplanes had conducted an air strike in the area, but said they targeted individuals posing a threat to Afghan forces.

"US forces conducted two air strikes against individuals firing on... our Afghan partners in Tarin Kot on 18 September," NATO spokesman Charles Cleveland said in a statement.

"We don't have any further information on who those individuals might have been or why they were attacking (Afghan) forces. US, coalition, and Afghan forces have the right to self-defense, and in this case were responding to an immediate threat."

The policemen "were inside their checkpoint" when they came under US bombardment, Mohammad Karim Khadimzai, the head of Uruzgan's provincial council, told AFP.

Civilian and military casualties caused by NATO forces have been one of the most contentious issues in the 15-year campaign against Taliban insurgents, prompting harsh public and government criticism.

A US air strike killed up to 10 Afghan soldiers in July last year at an army checkpoint in Logar province south of Kabul, one of the deadliest episodes of "friendly fire" by foreign forces in recent years.

NATO officially ended its combat mission in December 2014. But US forces in June were given more power to strike at the insurgents as President Barack Obama vowed a more aggressive campaign.

The new authority gave the US-led NATO troops greater latitude to order air strikes in support of Afghan troops.

Earlier this month Afghan forces backed by US air strikes mounted an offensive to flush out Taliban insurgents encircling Tarin Kot.

Afghan forces repelled the attack hours later, bolstered by reinforcements.

Uruzgan, a remote province with a huge opium industry, is one of the biggest flashpoints in the Taliban insurgency that erupted after a US-led invasion brought down their regime in 2001.

While "friendly fire" incidents involving foreign coalition forces are a volatile issue in Afghanistan, UN statistics show that the Taliban are responsible for most deaths.</s>An Afghan official says at least eight Afghan police officers have been killed in two U.S. airstrikes in southern Uruzgan province in what was apparently a friendly-fire incident.

Rahimullah Khan, a provincial operational commander, says the first airstrike killed one policeman at a security outpost outside the provincial capital of Tirin Kot, while the second, which struck the same area, killed seven others.

'An airstrike killed one police officer and when seven others returned to the security post, foreign aircraft carried out another raid, killing all of them,' he told VOA.

Khan says the airstrikes took place on Sunday afternoon around Tirin Kot. The Taliban have been advancing on the city in recent weeks.

A U.S. military spokesman confirmed that U.S. forces carried out an airstrike, saying they sought to assist Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) who have been in combat with Taliban assailants in the area.

'We don't have any further information on who those individuals might have been or why they were attacking ANDSF forces. U.S., Coalition, and Afghan forces have the right to self-defense, and in this case were responding to an immediate threat,' Brigadier General Charles Cleveland said.

Tarin Kot is one of several provincial capitals in Afghanistan who have faced Taliban attacks in recent weeks as the assailants attempt to take control of the city.

Insurgents managed to break through into the city earlier this month but were pushed back by Afghan forces-backed by US air power-shortly after.

In June President Barack Obama gave further authorization to the U.S. military in Afghanistan to mobilize its air and ground support when needed to assist Afghan forces in its struggle against the Taliban.

Last year Afghan officials claimed a US airstrike killed 11 counter-narcotics police officers on patrol in Garmsir district in the volatile Helmand province in a friendly fire incident.

While in July 2015 a US helicopter airstrike killed eight Afghan soldiers and wounded five others in Logar, sources in Afghanistan say.</s>Flags fly on top of homes in Uruzgan, Afghanistan, signaling that Afghan National Security Forces have cleared the area of insurgents and weapons during Operation Chamtoo in December 2013. The Afghan government will investigate a series of U.S. airstrikes that apparently killed eight people in the region over the weekend, officials said Tuesday. Courtesy 205th Corps Public Affairs

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan government will investigate a series of U.S. airstrikes that apparently killed eight people over the weekend, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday.

A committee has been appointed to lead the investigation, the ministry said in a statement. A spokesman said the names of the committee members were being withheld for security reasons, as they will be traveling to the embattled province of Uruzgan where the strikes occurred.

Two strikes were carried out Sunday in response to an “immediate threat,” Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland, spokesman for the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, said in a statement Monday.

U.S. forces, in coordination with Afghans, called in the air raids in self-defense against “individuals firing on, and posing a threat to, our Afghan partners,” Cleveland had said, but it was unclear who the individuals were or why they were firing on the Afghans.

Local highway police commander Haji Rahimullah said the attacks hit a police checkpoint on the main highway near Uruzgan’s provincial capital of Tirin Kot, killing a police officer in the first strike and, in a second run, at least seven more officers who responded to the scene.

Some reports Monday said the people killed were reserve police officers in civilian clothing carrying weapons, which may have been why they were struck.

The Interior Ministry statement said eight people had been killed, but it did not say they were police. The ministry spokesman said more details on the strikes would be released after its investigation was completed, including the names of the committee members and whether all eight killed were police officers.

Afghan forces have primary responsibility for their country’s security in the fight against the 15-year Taliban insurgency, but U.S forces are authorized to conduct strikes to prevent strategic losses as well as to protect the Afghans and their allies, such as international advisers.

U.S. officials in Kabul did not have any further comment Tuesday.</s>A U.S. air strike killed as many as eight Afghan policemen outside the embattled Provincial capital of Uruzgan province, Afghan officials said on Monday, as security forces, supported by U.S. strikes, battle resurgent Taliban militants. An initial air strike late on Sunday killed one policeman, while a follow up strike targeted first responders, killing at least seven, said Rahimullah Khan, commander of the reserve police unit in Uruzgan. Another official, Uruzgan deputy police chief Mohammed Qawi Omari, put the death toll at six but also reported the police were killed by a foreign air strike.

The U.S. military command in Kabul confirmed its warplanes had conducted an air strike in the area, but said they targeted “individuals firing on, and posing a threat to” Afghan national security forces. — Reuters
Afghan officials say yesterday's U.S. airstrikes killed up to eight Afghan policemen in Lashkar Gah, Uruzgan.