U.S. troops wrongly kill 6 Afghan police

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. troops erroneously killed six Afghan police officers and one civilian Wednesday in an attack on a suspected Taliban leader's hideout, officials said.

U.S. and Afghan military commanders said in a joint statement a group of police officers fired on U.S. forces after the troops successfully took the hideout, killing the suspect and detaining another man, The New York Times reported Wednesday on its Web site.

The statement said the troops had entered the hideout in Zabul province when they were subjected to small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades from nearby.

"Multiple attempts to deter the engagement were unsuccessful," the statement said. It was only after the fighting that U.S. troops learned they had been shooting at Afghan police, the statement said.

Jailoni Kahn Farahi, deputy police chief of Qalat District, said police officers were in a police station when they came under fire, the Times reported. He said the attack against U.S. troops did not originate from the police station, but from a nearby building.

"Coalition forces deeply regret the incident of mistaken fire," said U.S. military spokesman Col. Jerry O'Hara. "Initial reports indicate this was a tragic case of mistaken identity on both parts."

Zabul Gov. Delbar Jan Arman, said a joint Afghan-U.S. delegation of military and civilian officials would investigate the incident.