Two Israeli officers from a commando unit were killed in a so-called friendly fire accident at a base in the Jordan Valley in the West Bank late Wednesday night, the Israeli occupation military said.

The officers — both company commanders in the elite Egoz unit — were performing a patrol at roughly 11 p.m. around their base, known as Nabi Mussa, just north of the Dead Sea after a training exercise, Israeli media quoted occupation army as saying.

As they were walking, they spotted a person they thought was a suspicious figure, but was in fact another officer, according to the Times of Israel.

“The officers attempted to arrest this suspect, first calling for him to halt and then firing their weapons into the air,” according to the occupation military.

This third officer, hearing the shots but apparently not knowing they were fired by fellow soldiers, then shot back, fatally wounding both of them.

“The officers were killed after a mistaken identification led to a friendly fire incident,” the occupation army said in a statement.

Source: Israeli media