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Airbase attacked in Afghanistan, US-led airstrike kills 4 civilians

12 October 2012 19:57 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A major US airbase in Afghanistan has come under rocket attack while a US-led airstrike has killed four Afghan civilians in the east of the war-ravaged country, APA reports quoting Press TV

On Friday, ten rockets hit Jalalabad Airport, which is used for military purposes by US-led forces. No immediate reports of casualties emerged after the rocket attack on the airport, located in eastern Afghanistan.

No group has yet claimed the responsibility for the attack although similar incidents are usually blamed on Taliban militants.

Separately, four Afghan civilians were killed and nine more injured in a US-led airstrike in eastern province of Ghazni. Local officials said the strike hit residential areas in the town of Andar in Ghazi Province. They said the victims included two women and as many children.

The issue of civilian casualties in Afghanistan is highly sensitive and has been a major source of friction between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Washington.

The US claims its airstrikes target militants, but local sources say civilians have been the main victims of the attacks.

According to latest data released by the UN, nearly 1,200 civilians were killed in violent attacks across Afghanistan in the first half of 2012.

Also on Friday, Afghan officials in the Faryab Province said five Afghan policemen were killed in a Taliban ambush.

Ahmad Javid-Bidar, spokesman for Faryab provincial governor, said four Taliban insurgents were also killed in the ensuing shoot-out.

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washingtonâ€™s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but years into the invasion, insecurity continues to rise across the country.