'Friendly fire' kills UK soldiers

Venom PL

Venom PL

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'Friendly fire' kills UK soldiers

Three British troops have been killed in Afghanistan by suspected "friendly fire", the Ministry of Defence said.


The MoD said the soldiers, from 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, were killed on Thursday at approximately 1830 local time.

It is understood the soldiers died when US fighter planes, called to support ground troops, dropped a bomb near their patrol in Helmand province.

Two other soldiers were also injured. Next of kin have been informed.

The MoD said all of the soldiers were taking part in a fighting patrol to disrupt Taleban activity to the north west of Kajaki, in Helmand province, when the incident occurred.

They came under attack from Taleban insurgents and during the firefight that followed, close air support was called in, according to the MoD.

It is understood the explosion from a bomb dropped by the one of two US F15 aircraft killed the three soldiers, who were declared dead at the scene.

The injured soldiers were evacuated by helicopter to the medical facility at Camp Bastion.

The incident is under investigation.

It is believed to be the first incident of British service personnel being killed in a friendly fire incident involving American military personnel outside Iraq.

In February, Defence Secretary Des Browne told MPs: "Since 1990, there have been 12 British service personnel killed in friendly fire incidents involving American military personnel in Iraq. "There have been no confirmed reports of British service personnel killed in friendly fire incidents involving American military personnel in Afghanistan or elsewhere."

The deaths mean the total number of UK troops killed while on operations in Afghanistan since 2001 has risen to 73.
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Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6962071.stm
 
High speed planes, the men that are fighting are only few hundred feet apart, these things can so easily happen.
 
Close Air Support is always a dangerous game to play..... Close Air Support involving an F15 even more so...... as the A10 is best suited for that role, in my own opinion.

In the end it is a tragedy to be sure, and not being on the ground at the time I cannot say if it was one which could or could not have been averted.
Troops on the ground must always weigh the benefits as far as the desired outcome of the Battle and any possible adverse reactions when calling in either Close Air Support as well as Close Artillery Support.
 
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