US forces vow to probe civilian deaths in Afghanistan

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan

U.S. forces in Afghanistan have vowed to investigate the second consecutive deadly airstrike this week that killed more than 10 civilians in eastern Logar province Wednesday.

In a statement released late Wednesday, the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission (RSM) stated that the U.S Forces-Afghanistan is aware of the incident in the Pul-e-Alam district in Logar that claimed multiple civilian lives.

The recent incident reflects an evident surge in air raids following the announcement of new U.S. strategy for Afghanistan by the U.S. President Donald Trump last week.

“United States Forces-Afghanistan takes all allegations of civilian casualties seriously and is working with our Afghan partners to determine the facts surrounding the incident,” the statement said while acknowledging “potential civilian casualties”.

Salim Saleh, the provincial governor’s spokesman, told Anadolu Agency the strike killed the Taliban’s shadow governor Mohammadullah for Khoshi district who was hiding in a residential compound. He confirmed 11 civilians were also killed in the air raid.

Three days ago, a similar deadly U.S. airstrike on the Taliban’s suspected hideouts in western Herat province had killed 13 civilians and 16 militants.

Jailani Farhad, for the provincial governor, told Anadolu Agency the U.S. forces conducted an air raid on the Taliban’s hideouts in the Bakht area of the restive Shen Dand district on Monday. He said 16 Taliban militants, including two top commanders, have been killed and four more wounded in this raid.

Earlier this month, hundreds of Afghans took to the streets in eastern Jalalabad city against the alleged killing of 16 civilians in a similar U.S. airstrike on August 10.

Local officials in Jalalabad, capital of eastern Nangarhar province, admit 'some civilians' sustained harm in the attack, but the U.S. Forces in Afghanistan claimed that only Daesh militants were targeted in this air raid in the Haska Maina district.

Chanting slogans ‘Death upon American’, ‘Death upon foreigners’, the protesters gathered outside the provincial administration building in the downtown Jalalabad.

Denouncing the ‘blind aerial strikes’, they urged the Afghan government as well as the RSM in Afghanistan to thoroughly investigate the Haska Maina incident, and stop such incidents from recurring.