NATO helicopter mistakenly kills five Afghan officersAugust 1, 2013 - 22:30 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A NATO helicopter called in to support Afghan police at a highway checkpoint opened fire and mistakenly killed five Afghan officers, authorities said Thursday, Aug 1, as international troops prepare to withdraw from the country. The killings happened Wednesday night in eastern Nangarhar province's Bati Kot district, some 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the capital, Kabul. Police officers manning a checkpoint on a highway near the border with Pakistan came under fire and called in for air support from NATO troops, said Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, a spokesman for the provincial governor. It's unclear what happened next, but the NATO helicopter opened fire on the Afghan troops, killing five soldiers, said Capt. Malloy Ebony, a spokeswoman for the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force. Ebony said NATO troops were responding to a call from helped from combined Afghan and NATO coalition troops. Lt. Col. Will Griffin, another ISAF spokesman, said that the operation in the area involved a combined force of international and Afghan troops, but gave no further details. That contradicted information initially provided by Afghan authorities about the incident. The different accounts could not be immediately reconciled Thursday. "An investigation is being conducted at this time to determine this specific circumstances that lead to this," Ebony said. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. Aram I supports Karekin II’s “patriotic position” Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I has expressed support for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. |