KABUL – According to a UN report at least 23 civilians, including women andchildren, were killed by a US air strike in Southern Afghanistan earlierthis week.
The strike occurred during a firefight between afghan special forcesworking with us advisors and Taliban insurgents late Tuesday in restiveHelmand Province.
NATO said air support was requested by security forces on the ground as themilitants deployed heavy weapons and retreated into a nearby compound.
Civilians continue to face “extreme levels of harm”, a recent UN reportsaid, with 8,050 people killed or wounded in the January to Septemberperiod this year.
Violence has escalated in the past year as US and Afghan forces pressground and air offensives against Taliban and is insurgents.
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The Taliban has also upped assaults on Afghan forces even as the UnitedStates increased efforts to engage the militants in peace talks.
US Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is spearheading efforts to strike a peace dealwith the Taliban before Afghanistan’s presidential election, scheduled forApril next year.
