Nine British troops injured in 'friendly fire'

Updated 22.25 Thu Jul 10 2008

Keywords: Afghanistan, friendly fire, Helmand

Nine British troops have been injured in a "friendly fire" incident in southern Afghanistan.

According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), a British Apache helicopter gunship mistakenly fired on troops who were engaged in a firefight with Taliban insurgents.

"After successfully engaging one enemy position the Apache fired upon another position which the crew believed to be held by enemy forces" - MoD

The ministry said a British patrol requested fire support from the Apache when they encountered insurgents in Helmand Province.

A spokesman for the MoD said; "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."

Six of the casualties have now been discharged and returned to service. Two others remain in hospital under observation. One has been flown back to the UK in a stable state.

All the soldiers' next of kin have been informed.