WASHINGTON — An errant U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan’s Helmand province has killed local forces aligned with the Afghan government, according to U.S. officials in Kabul.
The explosion killed 16 Afghan national police officers who were fighting the Taliban and wounded two others.
The airstrike occurred as local Afghan forces were conducting a U.S. supported operation in the volatile Gereshk district.
The Afghan forces had gathered in a compound when the strike occurred, according to a press release from U.S. Forces-Afghanistan. The death toll was determined after a site inspection of the compound, said Helmand provincial police chief Abdul Ghafar Safi.
An investigation is currently underway to determine the specific circumstances of the strike, Navy Capt. William Salvin, a spokesman for Operation Resolute Support, told Military Times.
The incident comes on the heels of a recent success for Afghan and U.S. forces in the nearly 16 yearlong conflict. On Monday, Afghan forces with the support of U.S. advisers and air support recaptured the strategically located district of Nawa in Helmand province, Marine Maj. Kendra Motz told Military Times on Monday.
Nawa had collapsed to the resurgent Taliban militants nearly nine months ago. The operation to clear the district was a test of Gen. John Nicholson’s strategy touted before lawmakers last February to embed more advisers closer to the front lines with Afghan forces.
The White House and Defense Department are still reviewing a strategy for America’s longest war. The plan is expected to raise current troop levels by nearly 4,000.
President Trump met with his national security team on Wednesday for a broad overview of the security situation around the globe. Those talks included Afghanistan.
The meeting was a “broader discussion of the security situation,” Secretary of Defense James Mattis said.
Mattis stipulated it was important “to get the big ideas right,” and that these decision “just take time.” Mattis said he has “met repeatedly on this” issue with Trump.
The new strategy is also expected to take on a regional focus, according to an Afghan defense official.
On Friday, U.S. officials announced it would withhold $50 million in military aid to Pakistan, according to Reuters. The funds were held because Mattis could not certify that Pakistan had taken sufficient action against the Haqqani network — an internationally designated terrorist group with links to the Taliban.
When pressed by reporters on Friday about whether the decision was related to the new Afghan strategy, Mattis said it was “simply an assessment of the current state of play.”
There are currently 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan assisting and advising Afghan forces. Another roughly 1,500 U.S. troops are part of the lesser known counter terror mission called Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
Shawn Snow is the senior reporter for Marine Corps Times and a Marine Corps veteran.
