KABUL, Jan 24: Warning shots fired by Nato-led troops killed an Afghan passer-by in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, the force said, in the latest in a string of similar incidents.

International Security Assistance Force troops fired warning shots at the ground after a vehicle travelling at high speed did not stop at a road block in volatile Helmand province, a statement said.

“Unfortunately, the shots ricocheted and hit a local passer-by. The civilian was treated by an ISAF medic, but died at the scene,” it said. It did not say which troops were involved in the shooting, but most of the troops in Helmand are British.

The province last year saw some of Afghanistan’s worst Taliban-linked violence, which included nearly 140 suicide blasts nationwide.

There have been several cases in past weeks in which soldiers have killed civilians who have not heeded warnings to stop at checkpoints.—AFP