Kabul  - Afghanistan said Saturday that seven security forces were killed in a NATO airstrike in western Afghanistan, where NATO said that 25 Afghan and NATO soldiers were wounded during a search operation for two missing US soldiers.

"Seven Afghan forces, both police and army personnel, were killed in a NATO airstrike," a Defence Ministry statement said. It said a number of Afghan forces were also wounded in the air raid on Friday in western province of Badghis.

There were casualties among the foreign forces, the statement said, citing information provided by Afghan commando forces on the ground.

NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement that 25 Afghan and ISAF soldiers were wounded during an operation that was launched to find two missing US soldiers in the western region.

The two 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers went missing Wednesday during a resupply mission in the region.

The search would continue until the two missing soldiers are rescued or recovered, ISAF statement said, while the army statement said that a joint investigation by Afghan and NATO forces was launched into the airstrike.

The incident in Badghis came two days after an Afghan policeman opened fire on a team of his British military trainers in southern province of Helmand, killing five British soldiers and wounding six others.

More than 100,000 international military troops deployed from 42 nations are currently stationed in Afghanistan. Around two-thirds of the NATO troops are Americans.(dpa)