LOC16:16
13:16 GMT
KABUL, July 6 (KUNA) -- Hardly a day after Afghan president ordered probe
into the killing of 15 civilians in air strike by coalition troops in Nuristan
province, an Afghan official claimed 22 more civilians were killed in a
similar attack in the neighbouring province of Nangarhar on Sunday.
Governor of Deh Bala district of Nangarhar province Hamesh Gul said target
of the air strike was a wedding party. He said most of those perished in the
pre-dawn attack were women.
"Three of them were men and the rest were men," said the district chief.
Gul claimed that he was informed by policemen and other officials about the
civilian casualties.
However, the coalition troops in Kabul said those killed in the early
Sunday morning air raid were militants.
In a statement released from the US' Bagram base this morning, the troops
said "several militants" were killed in a precission air strike in the eastern
Nangarhar.
"Intelligence revealed a large group of militants operating in Deh Bala
district. Coalition forces identified the militants and used precision air
strikes to kill them," said the statement.
The claim regarding civilian casualties in coalition forces' air strike is
the second in three days.
Earlier, Governor of Afghanistan's mountainous Nuristan province Tamim
Nuristani, said that 15 civilians, traveling in two vehicles, were killed in
air strike by the coalition troops on Friday.
The troops denied the allegations and said they retaliated to an attack on
their outpost and those killed in the air raid were militants.
The next day (Saturday), Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai ordered his
Defence and Interior ministries to investigate the reports regarding civilian
casualties in Nuristan.
In its report last month, the United Nations said about 700 Afghan
civilians have been killed in insurgency in the country so far this year. Of
them, 255 person lost their lives in military operations, while the rest were
killed by militants, said the UN. (end)
gk.bz.
KUNA 061616 Jul 08NNNN