Nato 'friendly fire' kills Afghan soldiers

Police said yesterday six Afghan soldiers were killed in a Nato air strike in Afghanistan, where the military announced the deaths of another three foreign soldiers fighting the Taliban.

Local police in troubled Ghazni province, in south-central Afghanistan, said Nato "friendly fire" on an army post killed six officers, in an incident that the US-led Nato force said it was investigating.

The air strike late on Tuesday was originally aimed at Taliban militants, said Nawruz Ali Mohamoodzada, a provincial police official.

"It mistakenly hit an army post in which six soldiers were killed. An investigation has been launched," he said.

Western military air strikes targeting the Taliban have mistakenly killed scores of Afghan civilians and security forces, fanning opposition to foreign troops, sparking angry protests and remonstrations from the Afghan government.