KABUL, Afghanistan – U.S. forces in Afghanistan said Saturday that an initial investigation shows that an airstrike carried out in support of Afghan security forces in northern Kunduz province this past week “likely resulted in civilian casualties.”
Thirty civilians were killed and 26 others wounded in the attack after a joint operation by Afghan and foreign forces against Taliban militants in the city of Kunduz.
Taliban commanders Mullah Taqi and Ahmadyar were among 30 Taliban militants killed. Ten others were wounded, said Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry.
The incident occurred while Afghan forces were targeting Taliban leaders “who were planning additional attacks on Kunduz city,” said a statement released by U.S. forces. Afghan forces and their foreign advisers came under heavy fire and requested airstrikes, the statement said..
“I deeply regret the loss of innocent lives, regardless of the circumstances,” said Gen. John W. Nicholson, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Waziri said that the target was a gathering of Taliban commanders in one of their houses.
“Taliban have no regard or mercy for their own families,” Waziri said. Militants often hold meetings at their own houses with families inside, he said.
The U.S. has increased airstrikes significantly this year, supporting Afghan forces. According to media reports, about 700 were conducted against both Taliban and Islamic State positions.
But reports of civilian casualties have mounted recently.
At the end of September, 15 civilians were reportedly killed by a U.S. drone strike in the eastern province of Nangarhar. In June, at least seven civilians died in an airstrike on a Taliban prison in Kunduz.
Last year, a U.S. gunship mistakenly bombarded a Doctors Without Borders clinic in Kunduz, killing dozens of people.
