American aircraft was involved in the friendly-fire incident that killed five US troops in Afghanistan, according to a reports Tuesday.
The aircraft mistakenly bombed American and Afghan forces who called for air support after coming under fire Monday night, CBS News reported.
The Pentagon said the deaths happened during a “security operation,” adding: “Investigators are looking into the likelihood that friendly fire was the cause.”
A coalition official told USA Today that the Americans were special operators. An Afghan soldier was also killed.
The deadly mishap in Zabul province, a war-torn area near Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas, marked the one of the worst friendly-fire incidents for NATO forces during the nearly 14-year-old Afghan War, Britain’s The Guardian reported.
It also brought the number of coalition troops killed this year to 36.
Zabul’s police chief, Gen. Ghulam Sakhi Rughlewanai, told The Guardian: “We had launched a clearance operation in an area with a high security threat.”
“When it was over and we were returning to base, the enemy opened fire and [the US troops] asked for air support. The helicopters made a mistake and targeted their own people.”
The Taliban claimed credit for the attack, which took place ahead of Afghanistan’s planned presidential run-off election on Saturday.
In 2004, former NFL star-turned-Army Ranger Pat Tillman was accidentally killed by coalition forces in a controversial incident that the Pentagon initially blamed on the Taliban.