NATO Airstrike Accidentally Kills Afghan Troops

KABUL, Afghanistan — In a devastating case of friendly fire, NATO pilots who did not realize that Afghan soldiers had laid a trap for Taliban militants on the ground beneath them mistakenly attacked the soldiers as they lay in wait, killing at least five of them, Afghan officials said.

The attack in the Andor District of Ghazni Province, about 100 miles southwest of Kabul, suggested a lack of communication between NATO troops giving orders to the aircraft and Afghan forces on the ground who were trying to capture or kill militants who hold sway in part of the district known as Rahim Khiel.

The Afghan soldiers “had made an ambush for the enemy” when they were attacked early Wednesday morning, said Gen. Zahir Azimi, the spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense.

General Azimi said the “air force” had “bombarded” the Afghan soldiers; a NATO official later said a helicopter had fired a single rocket into the formation of Afghan troops.

“We condemn this incident,” General Azimi said. “Unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happened, but we hope this would be the last one.”

According to the NATO official, the helicopter attacked the Afghan soldiers after a patrol of NATO troops spotted the Afghans and, mistakenly believing they were militants, fed the information to the attack helicopter that fired the rocket.

While General Azimi put the Afghan toll at five dead soldiers and two wounded, the head of security in Ghazni Province, Abdul Ghani, said six soldiers were killed and one wounded.

It also was not clear what time the attack took place. General Azimi said he believed it occurred about 4 a.m., but Mr. Ghani said he understood that the attack was closer to midnight.

A spokesman for NATO forces did not identify which country’s aircraft attacked the Afghan troops but said the accident may have been the result of a “coordination issue.”

Sharifullah Sahak contributed reporting