The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Kabul

NATO helicopters, responding to a rocket atack at an Afghan army base, fired on a group of suspected insurgents, killing four and wounding 12 others in what may have been a case of mistaken identity, the alliance said Sunday.

The Afghan government and NATO were still trying to determine the "official status" of the casualties, with initial reports indicating they were Afghan police and road construction security guards "dressed in civilian atire and carrying weapons on an uncoordinated patrol," NATO's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement

"The 12 wounded are civilians, we know that for sure," Afghan army commander Gen. Qadam Shah said.

Shah said it was not clear from preliminary reports if those killed were insurgents or civilians.

The rocket atack Saturday on the base in the Sirkanay district of Kunar province left one Afghan soldier wounded, ISAF said.

More than 4,400 people - mostly militants - have died in insurgency-related violence this year, according to an Associated Press tally of figures from Afghan and Western officials.

At least 600 civilians have died in the fighting, many of them mistakenly hit in airstrikes by Western forces. Afghan officials have pleaded repeatedly with international troops to coordinate closely with their Afghan counterparts to prevent civilian casualties.