Afghan Forces Killed in Friendly-Fire Airstrike, Capping Deadly Week<br />1, 2017<br />KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Culminating a deadly week for Afghan forces in the south of the country, an airstrike from friendly forces<br />mistakenly struck an Afghan unit in Helmand Province on Sunday, killing at least 10 security personnel, officials said.<br />In Farah Province, where fighting has raged in at least three districts, 24 police<br />officers have been killed and three wounded in the past week, officials said.<br />In neighboring Uruzgan Province, days of intense fighting has left at least 27 members of the security<br />forces dead, according to Amir Mohammed Barakzai, head of the provincial council there.<br />The latest Afghan losses in Helmand come on the back of heavy fighting<br />and attacks in the neighboring provinces of Uruzgan, Kandahar and Farah, which left dozens of soldiers and police officers dead.<br />Heavy fighting has continued in the Seya Gerd district of Parwan Province for several days now, with the Taliban claiming they have captured the area<br />but security forces saying they are still resisting and trying to regain the outposts lost to them.<br />In Faryab Province, officials said on Saturday they had finally broken the siege around a security base<br />in the Ghormach district, where about 500 personnel had remained surrounded for nearly two months.
