KABUL – The Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan reacted at the recent reportpublished by the UN mission in Afghanistan regarding the deadly airstrikein Kunduz.

The United Nations Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said late on Monday thatthe latest findings by the mission indicate that 36 civilians were killedand 71 others were wounded in the airstrike in Dasht Archi district.

However, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) in a statement, said theintelligence reports received by the ministry indicates that severalTaliban militants including 18 of their commanders were killed in the raid.Afghan intelligence NDS has blamed that Pakistan based militants werepresent in the attack, however UN report has refuted NDS claims.

The statement further added that a member of the Quetta Council of theTaliban Mulah Baryal was also among those killed and several othersincluding 12 commanders of the group were wounded.

In the meantime, MoD confirmed the deaths of 9 civilians while stating that55 others sustained injuries in the airstrike.

According to MoD, the civilians were used as human shields by the militantswhile the airstrike was carried out.

The Ministry of Defense emphasizes that the armed forces remains committedto take all necessary measures to ensure the civilians are not harmedduring the operations.

The statement also adds that government and security institutions arecommitted to take legal actions against any personnel of the armed forcesfound guilty of negligence during the operations.

MoD believes that the recent UNAMA report has been prepared based on theaccounts of the individuals living in the areas under the control of theTaliban and have been forced to provide incorrect information.