U.S. Airmen from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, prepare to “put a jet to bed” April 21, 2017, on Albacete Air Base, Spain. (U.S. Air Force Photo by/ Senior Airman Justin Fuchs)
On October 5, four civilians were killed and eleven others were injured when warplanes of the NATO attacked a wedding convoy in the district of Maruf in the central province of Kandahar, according to the Taliban news agency Voice of Jihad. All the victims were reportedly women and children.
The NATO has not commented on the incident yet. However, the media office of Kandahar’s governor confirmed in an official statement that several women and children were killed and injured in airstrikes on Maruf. Furthermore, the media office claimed that eight Taliban fighters, including three Pakistani nationals, were also killed.
The provincial governor blamed the Taliban for the incident and said that its fighters attacked the villages of Khogyani and Ishaqzai in Maruf, which forced the Afghan National Police (ANP) to call for close air support. When the warplanes reached the battle scene, Taliban fighters took shelter among the civilians, according to the governor’s statement.
Such incidents are common in Afghanistan. According to a recent report by the U.N., more than 1,700 civilians were killed in terror attacks and airstrikes in the first half of this year only.
