Europa NewsWire.
Photo by Cpl. Thomas Hermesman .
KABUL, Afghanistan - Four U.K. soldiers were killed, another one died
of his wounds, and a further six were injured while conducting
operations in Southern Afghanistan Tuesday. Two Afghan national police
officers were also wounded. An ISAF unit responded to the incident and
aided the wounded before transporting them to an ISAF hospital for
treatment. A joint ISAF and Afghan Ministry of Interior team is
investigating the incident due to allegations the British soldiers may
have been fired upon by Afghan security forces.
"I have spoken to the minister of interior, Minister Atmar who shares
my deepest regret for this incident and he gave me his assurance that
this incident will be fully and transparently investigated," said Gen.
Stanley McChrystal, commander International Security Assistance Force.
"We will not let this event deter our resolve to building a partnership
with the Afghan national security forces to provide for Afghanistan's
future."
"There is a deep sense of loss as I know many others feel and our
heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of our fellow
soldiers," said Gen. McChrystal.
"We are deeply saddened for the loss of our ISAF partners and we extend
our prayers to their families and those injured in this senseless
attack. Every casualty suffered in our country comes with profound
regret. This appears to be an isolated incident that is being jointly
investigated by our officials and our ISAF partners," said Minister of
Interior of Afghanistan Haneef Atmar.
