Police deaths in Batikot airstrike being probed

JALALABAD (PAN): Four policemen were “mistakenly” killed during an airstrike by Afghan Special Forces in the Batikot district of eastern Nangarhar province, an official said on Thursday.

The airstrike on Wednesday night came after the police called for air support during a clash with insurgents in the area, the governor’s spokesman, Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

The Afghan forces mistakenly killed the four policemen and wounded two others based on wrong information they had been passed, Abdulzai said, adding insurgents also suffered heavy casualties during the airstrike.

Meanwhile, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF.”

In response to an emailed query from Pajhwok Afghan News, the NATO-led force said an investigation was being conducted to determine the circumstances that led to the incident.

A doctor at Nangarhar civil hospital, who did not want to be named, confirmed receiving four dead bodies and two wounded police officials.

Nangarhar’s deputy police chief, Col. Masoom Khan Hashimi, also confirmed the incident, but gave no other details. He hoped a probe would lead to accurate information.

A resident of the area, Amin, said there was a clash between police and insurgents between 10.pm and 1am last night. There were also airstrikes in which two civilians were also wounded, he added.

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