British Troops in Apache "Friendly Fire" Incident
A "friendly fire" incident which took place in Afghanistan wounded nine British soldiers, according to the MoD.
British Army Apache
During the incident, which occurred on July 9th, a British Army Apache AH1 helicopter gunship fired upon members of 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment in error, believing them to be the enemy.
Nine Soldiers Injured
Of the nine soldiers, one with serious injuries has been airlifted back home, while two more are at Camp Bastion, where their conditions have been described as stable.
The remainder are now back on the front line, while relatives of all those involved have been notified.
Enemy Forces
According to the ministry, the airstrike was called at the request of ground-based forces who had come across insurgent forces.
"After successfully engaging one enemy position the Apache fired upon another position which the crew believed to be held by enemy forces", a statement issued by the MoD said.
"However, in the confusion of a rapidly changing situation and in, what is, a challenging environment, it would appear that friendly forces were mistaken for the enemy and as a result three members of the patrol were seriously wounded and six more were classified as walking wounded."
The ministry added that the incident was now been looked into, clarifying that, at this stage in proceedings, "it would be inappropriate to comment until that investigation is complete."
Hellfire Missiles
Last month, it emerged that the British military had been launching Hellfire missiles from Apaches against militant forces.
Source - Armed Forces International's Middle East Correspondent
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