Afghan air force faces criticism after strike

KABUL — The Afghan military faced a wave of criticism Tuesday as citizens, human rights groups and government officials took stock of an airstrike carried out by the Afghan air force in the northern province of Kunduz, killing dozens of people.

A spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, Gen. Mohammad Radmanish, said Afghan helicopters attacked a Taliban stronghold in a location that was being used as a training camp for the group in Dashti Archi district, near Kunduz city and the Tajikistan border. Foreign fighters from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were among the people killed in the strike, the general added.

But other Afghan officials disputed that point. Abdullah Qarloq, a senator from the district, said the Afghan military struck the Akhundzada Gojor madrassa, or religious school, during a graduation ceremony. Several hundred people were present at the time, and those killed included both civilians and Taliban members, he said.

“What I know and have heard is that 200 people have been killed and wounded, both civilians who were studying there and armed Taliban,” the senator said.

Monday’s airstrike underscores a potential pitfall in the latest U.S. strategy in the 16-year war in Afghanistan, which calls for significant investment in the Afghan air force.

The confusion and carnage after Monday’s strike was enough for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan to launch an investigation. The mission called reports about the airstrikes “disturbing” and said Tuesday in a tweet that it had a human rights team on the ground researching the strike.

“All parties reminded of obligations to protect civilians from impact of armed conflict,” the tweet said.

Safiullah Amiri, a member of the Kunduz provincial council, said that there may have been Taliban members present when the strike occurred, but many more civilians also were there.