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Afghans say 20 died in NATO airstrike
Afghan officials said Saturday that a NATO airstrike had inadvertently killed several Afghan soldiers and policemen a day earlier in northwestern Afghanistan.
The airstrike took place amid fighting in Badghis province as Afghan and U.S. troops were looking for two American paratroopers who disappeared in the area Wednesday.
The U.S. military said the soldiers on the search operation came under an attack that killed four Afghan soldiers and two policemen and wounded five American and 17 Afghan troops.
Afghan officials said the NATO airstrike hit a coalition base in the area or hit near it. The district's mayor, Abdul Shukor, put the death toll at 20 -- six Afghan soldiers, two policemen and 12 civilians. Shukor described the bombing site as a military checkpoint near a warehouse.