--- description: Five NATO service members and one Afghan soldiers were killed in in what officials fear was a case of friendly fire title: Friendly Fire May Have Killed Five Soldiers in Afghanistan image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f63a7a03e166a35/698696e255a859276ca814c5/afghanistan-friendly-fire.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Afghanistan](/tag/afghanistan/) ## Afghanistan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Report: Friendly Fire Incident Kills 5 U.S. Soldiers in Afghanistan  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 10, 2014 12:08 PM CUT  A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft plane flies low over US Special Forces units and Afghan soldier positions of the 4th Brigade, 201 Army Corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA) during an operation in Khogyani District on March 19, 2014. A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft plane flies low over US Special Forces units and Afghan soldier positions of the 4th Brigade, 201 Army Corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA) during an operation in Khogyani District on March 19, 2014.Roberto Schmidt—AFP/Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 10, 2014 12:08 PM CUT Five U.S. soldiers and one Afghan soldier were killed in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, reportedly in an incident of friendly fire. NATO said that the soldiers were patrolling a volatile region of southern Afghanistan when their unit came under enemy fire. An Afghan police chief [told](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCQQqQIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2014%2F06%2F11%2Fworld%2Fasia%2Ffriendly-fire-strike-kills-5-special-operations-soldiers-in-afghanistan.html&ei=g%5FKWU9LuLIbQsQSL-IGwCg&usg=AFQjCNEGtMdXdBabqz-Fvg6S3nRAicKK-g&sig2=MMzx1VHysqIgCykxSMygkw&bvm=bv.68445247,d.cWc "undefined") the New York _Times_ that the soldiers were ambushed at close-range by Taliban militants. The soldiers radioed for air support, at which point a coalition jet mistakenly bombed their position, the _Times_ reported. NATO has not confirmed the details of the soldiers’ death, saying that the incident was still under investigation. “Tragically, there is the possibility that fratricide may have been involved,” read a statement from the International Security Assistance Force, NATO’s coalition force in Afghanistan. The Pentagon confirmed that five U.S. troops had been killed on Tuesday. “Investigators are looking into the likelihood that friendly fire was the cause,” said Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of these fallen.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2851841/afghanistan-friendly-fire/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2851841/afghanistan-friendly-fire/"},"headline":"Report: Friendly Fire Incident Kills 5 U.S. Soldiers in Afghanistan","datePublished":"2014-06-10T12:08:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:19:08.833Z","description":"Five NATO service members and one Afghan soldiers were killed in in what officials fear was a case of \"fratricide\"","url":"https://time.com/2851841/afghanistan-friendly-fire/","keywords":["Afghanistan","NATO","Soldiers"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f63a7a03e166a35/698696e255a859276ca814c5/afghanistan-friendly-fire.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f63a7a03e166a35/698696e255a859276ca814c5/afghanistan-friendly-fire.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft plane flies low over US Special Forces units and Afghan soldier positions of the 4th Brigade, 201 Army Corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA) during an operation in Khogyani District on March 1","caption":"A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft plane flies low over US Special Forces units and Afghan soldier positions of the 4th Brigade, 201 Army Corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA) during an operation in Khogyani District on March 1","creditText":"Roberto Schmidt—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/afghanistan/","name":"Afghanistan"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2851841/afghanistan-friendly-fire/","name":"Report: Friendly Fire Incident Kills 5 U.S. Soldiers in Afghanistan"}}]}] ```