US air strike in Afghanistan plays havoc upon afghan civilians including women and children
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KABUL - According to a UN report at least 23 civilians, including women and children, were killed by a US air strike in Southern Afghanistan earlier this week.
The strike occurred during a firefight between afghan special forces working with us advisors and Taliban insurgents late Tuesday in restive Helmand Province.
NATO said air support was requested by security forces on the ground as the militants deployed heavy weapons and retreated into a nearby compound.
Civilians continue to face "extreme levels of harm", a recent UN report said, with 8,050 people killed or wounded in the January to September period this year.
Violence has escalated in the past year as US and Afghan forces press ground and air offensives against Taliban and is insurgents.
The Taliban has also upped assaults on Afghan forces even as the United States increased efforts to engage the militants in peace talks.
US Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is spearheading efforts to strike a peace deal with the Taliban before Afghanistan's presidential election, scheduled for April next year.
