In the statement, the U.S. offered its condolences to the families of the security forces who were killed.

An errant U.S. airstrike confirmed by the Pentagon killed 12 Afghan National Police officers and wounded two others, Helmand provincial police chief Abdul Ghafar Safi said on Saturday.

The death toll in Friday’s airstrike was determined after a site inspection of the compound in Gereshk District, he said.

The United States in a statement confirmed that the airstrike on the Security Forces compound happened during a U.S.-supported operation against Taliban insurgents in the area.

In the statement, the U.S. offered its condolences to the families of the security forces who were killed.

While much of Helmand province is under the control of Taliban, Afghan national security forces have been waging fierce battles to retake territory. NATO and U.S. troops are in Helmand to assist Afghan troops.

Mr. Safi told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that the dead were police officers who were operating with the Army in the area.

He said they had recaptured the post from the Taliban when the airstrike occurred. On July 21, the Helmand Governor Hayatullah Hayat said it was believed the police officers were not in uniform, which may have resulted in mistakenly identifying them as Taliban fighters.

11 policemen killed in Badakshan’s province

Meanwhile, the Governor of Afghanistan’s northern Badakshan’s province says 11 police have been killed and another six wounded during a roaring battle with Taliban insurgents.

Fighters with Afghanistan's Taliban militia stand with their weapons in Ahmad Aba district on the outskirts of Gardez, the capital of Paktia province, on July 18, 2017. | Photo Credit: AFP

Ahmad Faisal Bigzad says another 20 members of a local police force in the remote region of Tagab are missing following Friday’s firefight.

It wasn’t immediately clear if they had been kidnapped or whether they had escaped.

Mr. Bigzad says the area of the fighting is tucked inside a mountainous region where access is restricted and even telephone contact is erratic.