A US airstrike in Afghanistan has targeted an army checkpoint manned by Afghan soldiers in the country’s central Logar Province, killing at least ten service members.
The attack was reportedly carried out by two US helicopters against a checkpoint in the Baraki Barak district of Logar Province on Monday.
Earlier reports had put the number of the Afghan soldiers killed at 14.
"At 6:00 am (0130 GMT) today morning, two US helicopters attacked a checkpoint in Baraki Barak district of Logar province. The checkpoint caught fire," AFP quoted district governor Mohammad Rahim Amin as saying.
Amin said the targeted outpost was "not a suspicious area", adding, "The Afghan flag was waving at the checkpoint in Baraki Barak when the Americans launched their attack."
The US military said it was investigating the matter.
"We are aware of an incident involving US forces in Logar province this morning, July 20th," a US military spokesman, identified as Colonel Brian Tribus, said.
Afghanistan faces a security challenge years after the United States and its allies invaded the country in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed Taliban from power, but many areas in the country are still beset with insecurity.
US-led NATO forces ended their combat mission in Afghanistan last December, leaving local forces to battle the Taliban on their own, but a much smaller force, mostly from the US, remains for purported training and counter-terrorism operations.
