Troop deaths in Afghanistan not friendly

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KABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- An initial investigation into the deaths of two British soldiers in Afghanistan found the killings were not caused by "friendly fire," British officials said.

Cpl. Channing Day, 25, and Cpl. David O'Connor, 27, were fatally injured while on patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province Wednesday, Khaama Press reported. An Afghan man, believed to have been an off-duty member of the Afghan Uniformed Police, also died during the incident.

"A joint incident assessment team, comprising specialists from International Security Assistance Force, along with representatives from the government of Afghanistan, have conducted an initial review at the scene and have concluded that this was not a blue-on-blue ["friendly fire"] incident, and that the deaths of Corporal O'Connor and Corporal Day were caused by a third party or parties whose identities have yet to be established but who are not U.K. personnel," a British Defense Ministry official said.

"Further investigation into the involvement or otherwise of the dead Afghan male is ongoing."

The official said the analysis of the event was "likely to take some time."