US airstrike kills at least nine Afghan police

[TomSea]

US airstrike kills at least nine Afghan police
By The Washington Post |
July 21, 2017 at 11:54 am

By Max Bearak and Thomas Gibbons-Neff | Washington Post

KABUL, Afghanistan — A U.S. airstrike killed at least nine “local security personnel aligned with Afghan Government forces,” a spokesman for the U.S. military confirmed late Friday.

U.S. forces apparently mistook the police for the Taliban militants both the U.S. and Afghan forces were fighting.

The airstrike took place in the Gereshk district of Helmand province, where U.S. and Afghan forces have been locked in fierce fighting with the Taliban. Local media reports put the number of dead at 17. A U.S. military statement said that an investigation would be conducted “to determine the specific circumstances that led to this incident.”

Continued: http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/21/us-airstrike-kills-at-least-nine-afghan-police/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/21/u-s-airstrike-mistakenly-kills-least-9-afghan-policemen-battle-taliban/499789001/

Afghanistan's TOLO News said the fatalities included two police commanders. The Washington Examinerquoted a U.S. military official as saying a U.S. drone conducted the strike.

Higher toll per some articles, some articles also say it was a drone strike.