|
Nine British soldiers injured by friendly fire in Helmand
Nine British soldiers have been wounded in a "friendly fire incident" in Afghanistan, when an Apache attack helicopter mistakenly attacked them in a skirmish with Taliban fighters, the Ministry of Defence said last night.Three members of the patrol were seriously injured when the helicopter fired on a position thought to be held by insurgents. The three were airlifted to Camp Bastion, the main British base in Afghanistan, for medical treatment. One was flown back to the UK, but last night was in a "stable" condition. Six others soldiers, members of the 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, were classified as "walking wounded" after the incident in Helmand province. They have been discharged from medical care and have returned to their duties, a spokesman for the ministry said last night. The incident was thought to be the first time that a British Apache, flown by the Army Air Corps, has responsible for a "friendly-fire" incident. It happened shortly after midday on Wednesday, after a routine patrol had clashed with Taliban fighters near a British base called Gibraltar, south of Sangin. The area has seen fierce clashes over recent months, with paratroopers repeatedly being ambushed. An MoD spokesman said: "On July 9 at 12.27pm, a routine British patrol requested fire support from a British Apache when they encountered enemy forces near Forward Operating Base Gibraltar. After successfully engaging one enemy position, the Apache fired upon another position which the crew believed to be held by enemy forces." "However, in the confusion of a rapidly changing situation and in what is a challenging environment, it would appear that friendly forces were mistaken for the enemy, and as a result three members of the patrol were seriously wounded and six more were classified as walking wounded." Posted by: Steve White 2008-07-11 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=243945 |