BAGRAM, Afghanistan – Dutch troops in Afghanistan have killed two of their own men during a nighttime battle.
The Dutch Defence Ministry says that in another incident, Dutch troops also killed two allied Afghan soldiers they mistook for enemies.
The top Dutch military commander, Gen. Dick Berlijn, says darkness, the weather conditions and the confused situation played a role in the mistake Saturday in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan.
Berlijn says the two Afghan soldiers, who were not in uniform, had approached a wounded Dutch soldier.
Around 1,650 Dutch are serving in Uruzgan province as part of the NATO mission there.
In November, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced the Dutch would extend their mission in Afghanistan for two years after it was due to expire in August 2008.
