An Afghan national has been accidentally shot dead by Spanish troops near Farah-Rud it emerged yesterday.

According to a Spanish Interior ministry statement, the incident occurred at around 4pm last Sunday when a Toyota was spotted travelling towards a fuel convoy being escorted by Spanish and Italian troops.

Fearing a suicide bomb attack, the soldiers fired a number of warning shots in the air, one of which is reported to have rebounded off the ground, killing one of the passengers travelling in the back-seat of the Toyota.

Afghan police handling the investigation did not find either weapons or explosives in the Toyota.