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US-led airstrike kills seven people in SE Afghanistan

15 October 2013 17:59 (UTC +04:00)

Local Afghan security officials say the airstrike took place in the Paktika Province. Security sources also say those killed were Taliban militants, though the Taliban have yet to comment on the report.

The US-led forces have launched numerous airstrikes over the past years in Afghanistan, many of them targeting civilians.

A large number of civilians have been killed or injured at the hands of US-led foreign forces -- most of them in nighttime raids and airstrikes. The casualty rate has risen over the past few months, even though the Afghan government has asked foreign forces to make every effort to avoid killing civilians.

The US-backed NATO command has for months ignored residents’ complaints of severe abuses committed by the elite American troops and commandos.

These developments come after Afghan investigators found substantial proof that American Special Forces have been involved in the kidnapping, torturing and killing of Afghan civilians across the war-torn country.

Civilian casualties caused by foreign forces have been a major source of tension between Kabul and Washington. The civilian casualties in the NATO airstrikes and night raids have caused widespread anger among Afghan people and officials including President Hamid Karzai.

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across the country, despite the presence of thousands of US-led troops.