Provincial security chief spokesman Farid Ahmad Farhang confirming the report said the incident took place in Greshk district while British troops were patrolling in the area.
Mr. Farhang further added, “A group of British troops opened fire on an Afghan national police and killed him.”
He said, “British troops were then attacked by a group of other British soldiers who were also patrolling in the area, killing two service members.”
The incident took place on Wednesday evening around 5 pm local time at Malgir area in Greshk district.
This comes as Afghan security forces have repeatedly attacked NATO troops in Afghanistan however this is the first incident where NATO troops have been mistakenly killed by their comrades.
The green on blue attacks in Afghanistan created tensions among the Afghan and NATO officials and the Afghan defense ministry during the recent months dismissed several Afghan national army officers suspected of having difficulties in their documents.
Meanwhile local officials in Helmand province said the deceased Afghan police officer was also mistakenly killed by British troops while he was preparing for the prayers.
Reports suggest that British troops are patrolling in local clothings in order to capture the militants which resulted in death of two British soldiers who were also patrolling in the same area.
from KHAAMA
By Sayed Jawad - Thu Oct 25, 1:42 pm
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UPDATE from News Republic:
Thursday, October 25, 2012 2:11 PM GMT
British troops killed two of their own soldiers in a "friendly fire" incident in Afghanistan, Afghan police said Thursday, while Britain's Ministry of Defence said the shooting was still under investigation.
Two British soldiers, one of them a female medic, and a man believed to be an Afghan policeman died in the incident in Helmand province, the ministry said in London, adding that it did not know at this stage what initiated the gunfire.
Helmand police spokesman Farid Ahmad Farhang said the deaths were due to a mistaken belief by a British patrol that they were under fire from insurgents -- while the shooting actually came from a second British patrol.
"There were two groups of British soldiers foot-patrolling an area called Malgir in Greshk district yesterday at around 5:00 pm," Farhang said.
"As one group proceeded to a village they saw a policeman in civilian clothes performing ablutions (before prayers). The British soldiers thought he was a Talib and opened fire on him, killing him on the spot.
"The second group of British soldiers who were coming from a distance thought they were attacked by the Taliban and opened fire in the direction they had heard the gunfire, killing two of their colleagues," Farhang said.
This version of events was confirmed by Mohammad Ismail Hotak, the head of the coordination centre of Afghan forces in Helmand province.
Farhang said local officials with NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had "confirmed it was a mistake and friendly fire which killed the two British".
In Kabul an ISAF spokesman told AFP: "We are tracking that reporting and at this point I'll call it a rumour that's out there.
"Unfortunately there is an ongoing assessment being done to look into the cause of that event and we do not have definitive operational reporting at this time to confirm that.
"Hopefully we will get some kind of resolution sometime today or tomorrow."
Britain's ministry of defence said: "There was an exchange of gunfire that resulted in the deaths of a Royal Marine... a female soldier from 3 Medical Regiment and an Afghan man who is believed to be a member of the Afghan Uniformed Police but who was not wearing uniform at the time.
"The UK patrol were not working with any Afghan partners at the time."
The spokesman added: "At this stage we do not know what initiated the exchange of gunfire and an investigation is ongoing. Further details will be provided as information becomes available but at this time the situation remains unclear."
Washington Time
Kabul Time
London Time
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