Three UK Soldiers Killed by US Fire

Jet was providing support v. Taliban
By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 24, 2007 9:59 AM CDT
Three UK Soldiers Killed by US Fire
British soldiers of B company of the Worcester and Sherwood Forest regiment, take part in an operation in Helmand province, Southern Afghanistan, Tuesday Aug. 14, 2007, where intense fighting has seen the death toll escalating in recent months, and concerns raised that the fatality rate among British...   (Associated Press)

Fire from an American jet killed three British soldiers in Afghanistan yesterday evening in one of the worst “friendly fire” disasters in years. The US air support was called in to aid the soldiers, who were fighting Taliban forces; a single bomb from the F15 killed the Royal Anglian soldiers and wounded two others. An investigation was launched immediately, the Times reports.

Earlier friendly-fire incidents have led US and UK military to develop new techniques to tell allies from enemy. Soldiers fighting at night wear infrared systems on their helmets. Since the 2001 invasion, 73 British serviceman have died in Afghanistan. (More Afghanistan stories.)

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