US air raid kills 3 Afghan police officers in Helmand

At least three Afghan border police officers have been killed in the latest of US airstrikes in Afghanistan's Helmand province.

According to a statement by the US military command in Kabul on Saturday, the so-called friendly fire occurred on Friday night, when an American military aircraft opened fire on Afghan forces' positions in Nad Ali district of the restive southern province.

It added that the overnight raid killed "members" of the Afghan Border Police (ABP) but did not specify an exact death toll.

"We would like to express our deepest condolences to the families of the ABP members affected by this unfortunate incident," the statement further read, adding that an investigation was being undertaken to determine the specific circumstances that led to the incident.

Meanwhile, Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the Helmand governor, said the aggression had claimed the lives of at least three police officers and inflicted injuries on two others.

However, an Afghan TV network, TOLO News, citing unnamed sources from the province, said the real death toll and the number of the injured were much higher than what the governor's office had announced.

SS