Air raids kill nine Afghan soldiers

INT34 International/Defence Air raids kill nine Afghan soldiers Kabul, Oct 22 Xinhua Nine Afghan soldiers were killed and three injured in an air strike by the international troops on suspected Taliban hideouts in Afghanistan's eastern province of Khost early Wednesday, the defence ministry said in a press release. "The international troops carried out air raids at 2 a.m. in Syed Khil district leaving nine soldiers dead and three wounded," the press release said without elaborating. Neither US military nor NATO officials were available to make comments on the incident. Mistaken targets have claimed hundreds of lives over the past seven years of fight against insurgents in Afghanistan, the bloodiest being the one in August which killed 91 non-combatants in the western Herat province. The civilian killings triggered widespread protests across the war-torn country. --Xinhua dkg/jg 142 Words 22101316