A United States-led coalition warplane mistakenly dropped a bomb on an Afghan police convoy in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing 12 police officers, a police commander said.
The coalition confirmed “an event did happen” and said it was collecting details.
The bomb struck a patrol in eastern Paktika province, provincial border police regiment commander Abdul Hamid said.
“They came under US bombardment and 12 police officers were killed, including the police commander,” he said.
The coalition, which is hunting down Taliban insurgents in the province, had apparently come under attack earlier, he said. “They may have mistaken our convoy for the enemy.”
“An event did happen,” coalition spokesperson Colonel Thomas Collins said. “It is under investigation. We are scrambling to get the details.” — AFP