Air strike carried out by US-led Coalition troops on Wednesday hit a police station in southern Afghan province of Zabul, killing six policemen and one civilian nearby, said Ghalam Jailani Khan, deputy provincial police chief.

Jailani Khan told Xinhua that it occurred at 03:00 a.m. local time (2230 GMT) when the US gunships attacked one police station in Qalat city of Zabul province leaving at least six policemen dead and 11 others injured.

"One civilian was also killed while the bombs rocked his house near the police station," the police official said.

Meanwhile, a statement released by US military said US troops have mistaken the police station for a Taliban hide out as Afghan police fired on them after the troops battled and killed an armed militant nearby.

The incident resulted by a "tragic case of mistaken identity on both parts," the statement said.

International troops, both the US-led Coalition forces and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), have continuously made such "mistakes" killing ally forces and non- combatants during seven years fighting with Taliban militants and Al-Qaeda rebels in Afghanistan.

Spiraling conflicts and Taliban-linked insurgency have claimed more than 5,000 people's lives with over 2,000 civilians so far this year despite over 70,000-strong international troops stationed in strife-torn Afghanistan.

(Xinhua News Agency December 10, 2008)