KHOST, Oct 22: Foreign troops killed nine Afghan soldiers in a mistaken air strike in the southeast of the country overnight, the Afghan defence ministry said on Wednesday.

Helicopter gunships pounded an Afghan army post on a road in Dowa Manda district of Khost province, a Taliban stronghold, district chief Lutfullah Babakarkheil said. Eight soldiers were killed and four wounded, he said.

The Afghan defence ministry in Kabul put the number of troops killed at nine.

“Nine have been martyred, three wounded, one critically in the attack by international forces,” said ministry spokesman Zaher Azimi, who declined to give further details.

The vast majority of foreign troops in Khost are American. Nato’s International Security Assistance Force said it was looking into the report.—Reuters