Several Injured When A-10s Strafe Troops

NATO troops deployed as part of the continuing effort to expel terrorist elements from Afghanistan are reeling from the latest casualty of what has been a particularly devastating weekend.

A Canadian soldier was killed Monday... and several other troops with NATO's International Security Assistance Force were wounded... in a "friendly fire" accident involving two US aircraft, reported by the Associated Press as A-10 Thunderbolts. The planes were called in to provide air support to troops battling Taliban insurgents in the Panjwayi.

"Two ISAF aircraft provided the support but regrettably engaged friendly forces during a strafing run, using cannons," said a NATO spokesperson.

Lieutenant General David Richards -- the head of NATO forces in Afghanistan -- sent his sympathies to "all of the soldiers and their loved ones who've been affected by this very sad incident".

"It is particularly distressing to us all when, despite the care and precautions that are always applied, a tragedy like this happens," Richards added.

The incident comes after four Canadian soldiers were killed in ground fighting in Afghanistan this weekend... and as Aero-News reported, 14 British service personnel were lost when their Nimrod aircraft went down Saturday.

An investigation has been launched into the incident. If reports are confirmed, it will mark the second time US aircraft have fired on Canadian troops in Afghanistan.

A joint US-Canadian investigation found an American F-16 pilot didn't follow proper procedures when he mistakenly dropped a 500-pound laser-guided bomb on a group of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, killing four in the April 2002 incident.

FMI: www.nato.int