Kabul: A US-led NATO air raid has killed at least 16 Afghan civilian, mostly women and children, in the troubled eastern Afghanistan, officials said.
The incident took place when an airstrike targeted residential areas overnight in the Azra district of Afghanistan’s Logar province.
“Twelve civilians, including women and children, were killed last night when NATO planes targeted two houses,” AFP quoted a regional police chief as saying.
The official also said that the bodies of four Taliban militants had been recovered from the rubble.
Last week, the death of two children in a US-led airstrike sparked demonstrations in southern Afghanistan. NATO said it was investigating the incident.
The US is pressing ahead with its attacks in Afghanistan despite continuous protests from the Afghan people and government.
President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly condemned attacks on civilians, saying NATO must stop searching for suspected terrorists in Afghan residential areas.
Hundreds of civilians have lost their lives in the US-led airstrikes and ground operations in various parts of Afghanistan over the past few months, with Afghans growing frustrated over the seemingly endless number of deadly assaults.
The attacks have left a large number of Afghan civilians dead since the start of the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
The war in Afghanistan, with civilian and military casualties at record highs, has become the longest war in US history.
