Officials in Afghanistan said Monday an American air attack has killed at least eight policemen in a volatile central province, Voice of America reported.

The police personnel were guarding a security outpost on a main highway outside Tarin Kot, the provincial capital of Uruzgan, on Sunday evening, regional Highway Police Commander Samunwal Rahimullah Khan said.

“An airstrike killed one police officer and when seven others returned to the security post, foreign aircraft carried out another raid, killing all of them,” he said.

The Afghan commander denounced the attack and asserted there were Taliban posts in nearby areas with the white insurgent flag raised on them, “but we are unable to understand why Americans targeted our policemen.”

A U.S. military spokesman has confirmed an airstrike was conducted in Tarin Kot on September 18, saying it targeted “individuals” firing on Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.

Source: MENA