KABUL, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The Afghan Defence Ministry said on Thursday a U.S. air strike in southern Afghanistan overnight killed four Afghan soldiers, the second such incident in just over a week.
Civilian casualties and "friendly fire" deaths among Afghan security forces have been a frequent source of friction between President Hamid Karzai's government and Western military forces in a war now in its 10th year.
The deaths come only hours before U.S. President Barack Obama will announce the results of his Afghanistan war strategy review, which will paint a picture of measured progress against the Taliban-led insurgency.
The latest incident took place on Wednesday night in Musa Qala district in southern Helmand province, Defence Ministry spokesman Zaher Azimy said.
"Our four soldiers were killed while on a foot patrol overnight in an air bombardment by American forces in Musa Qala," Azimy said by telephone.
Major Michael Johnson, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), said he had reports of an incident in Musa Qala and that an assessment team already in the area had been dispatched to investigate.
Johnson confirmed there had been an air strike in Musa Qala overnight but did not provide any further details. Most of the foreign troops based in Musa Qala are U.S. Marines.
Violence in Afghanistan is at its worst since the Taliban were overthrown in late 2001, with record casualties on all sides of the conflict. At least 2,265 foreign troops have been killed since the war started, almost 700 of them in 2010 alone.
Afghan troops and police have suffered far higher casualties, although exact casualty figures are not provided by the government.
Ordinary Afghans have borne the brunt of the fighting as they become caught in the crossfire. According to U.N. figures, 1,271 civilians were killed in the first six months of this year, a 21 percent jump on the same period in 2009.
Military commanders have tightened the rules for using air strikes and there had been a sharp drop in the number of civilian deaths in such raids in the first six months this year.
However, aid groups warn a recent spike in the use of air power could cause a rise in casualties.
On Dec. 8, the Afghan Defence Ministry condemned an air strike by foreign forces which it said killed two of its soldiers and wounded five in Logar province to the south of Kabul. [ID:nSGE6B707O]
On Wednesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned of worsening violence in Afghanistan in 2011 and said reaching Afghans who needed help was harder now than it had been at any time in the past 30 years. [ID:nSGE6BE060] (Reporting by Sayed Salahuddin and Jonathon Burch; Editing by Paul Tait) (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to newsfeedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)
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