Two Dutch and two Afghan soldiers were killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan on Saturday night, army chief Dick Berlijn confirmed on Sunday.

Berlijn that the situation occurred because of the darkness, the bad weather and the difficult situation on the ground.
The dead Dutch soldiers have been named as the 20-year-old private first class Wesley Schol and the 22-year-old corporal Aldert Poortema. They were taking part in a reconnaisance operation involving hundreds of Dutch and Afghan soldiers in the area of Deh Rawood.
During another incident on Saturday in another location the 20-year-old Marc van de Kuilen was shot in both legs, which have since been amputated. According to general Berlijn, this was not a friendly fire incident.
The death of Schol and Poortema brings the number of Dutch soldiers killed in Afghanistan to 14. The defence ministry has begun an investigation into the precise cause of the incident.