Coalition airstrikes killed 18 Afghan civilians: UN inquiry

KABUL: At least 18 civilians were killed last week in airstrikes by international forces in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, an initial United Nations inquiry has concluded.

American military officials say their aircraft have conducted around 30 air strikes in Helmand in the past week. A spokesman said they were looking into the inquiry. "We are investigating the allegations and working diligently to determine whether civilians were killed or injured as a result of US airstrikes," said Brigadier General Charles Cleveland.

The Nato-led military mission has deployed hundreds of troops to Helmand in a bid to help Afghan security forces in their war against Taliban insurgents. American aircraft and special forces have also provided combat support, with at least one US soldier wounded in recent fighting. On Thursday and Friday air strikes in Helmand’s Sangin district killed as many as 18 civilians, mostly women and children, according to a UN statement released on Sunday.

The UN said the strikes had been conducted by "international military forces," but only US aircraft have been involved in recent coalition strikes, according to military officials. Family members of victims at the regional hospital in Helmand’s capital, Lashkar Gah, demanded explanations. "How could women and children be Taliban?" Majnoon, a resident of Sangin, who said 11 people were killed in his brother´s house in a strike on Thursday, told Reuters.

Mullah Qasem, a local leader in Sangin, said the government wanted justice for the families of the victims. The UN said a Taliban suicide bomber also killed at least seven civilians in an attack in Lashkar Gah on Saturday. Civilian casualties from both American and Afghan air strikes increased dramatically last year, according to the UN’s most recent report on threats to civilians.