An air strike in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/i-urge-the-united-states-to-stop-killing-our-people-karzai-279802">Afghanistan </a>has killed at least eight civilians, officials said Saturday, as the war-torn country prepares for a "reduction in violence" under a deal between Taliban militants and the United States.

The incident took place in the eastern province of Nangarhar on Friday when a vehicle carrying civilians was struck, according to Ataullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

"The target of the attack was <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-afghan-forces-clash-despite-talk-of-breakthrough-in-peace-deal-280693">Taliban </a>militants who wanted to establish checkpoints on the road, but unfortunately civilians were hit," he told AFP, putting the death toll at eight.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/i-urge-the-united-states-to-stop-killing-our-people-karzai-279802">I urge the United States to stop killing our people: Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai</a>

Talib Khan, a relative of the dead, told AFP the victims had been driving home from a picnic when their truck was hit, killing everyone inside.

Another relative, Shah Mir, 70, said: "No other breadwinner is left in my house, all my three sons were killed. I have a dozen grandchildren, I don't know how to bring them up."

It was not immediately clear who bombed the vehicle, but the US and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-afghan-forces-clash-despite-talk-of-breakthrough-in-peace-deal-280693">Afghan </a>militaries are the only forces in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/eight-including-newborn-killed-in-airstrike-in-afghanistans-khost-province-265602">Afghanistan </a>conducting air strikes.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/eight-including-newborn-killed-in-airstrike-in-afghanistans-khost-province-265602">Eight including newborn killed in airstrike in Afghanistan's Khost province</a>

A US military spokesman said they were "looking into the incident" and an Afghan defence ministry spokesman said they had launched an investigation.

The strike comes after US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Thursday an agreement with the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/eight-including-newborn-killed-in-airstrike-in-afghanistans-khost-province-265602">Taliban </a>was in place for a "conditions-based" seven-day reduction in violence.

The move is part of a long quest to forge a deal that could eventually lead to a comprehensive ceasefire.

It was not clear when the reduction in violence would start, a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-afghan-forces-clash-despite-talk-of-breakthrough-in-peace-deal-280693">Taliban </a>official said it was imminent and a US official said Friday it would begin "really soon".

A UN agency in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-afghan-forces-clash-despite-talk-of-breakthrough-in-peace-deal-280693">Afghanistan </a>in December reported that more than 100,000 Afghan civilians had been killed or wounded over the past decade.

A grim milestone after more than 18 years of war since US and NATO allies invaded the country following the September 11 attacks in 2001.

An air strike in Afghanistan has killed at least eight civilians, officials said Saturday, as the war-torn country prepares for a "reduction in violence" under a deal between Taliban militants and the United States.

An air strike in Afghanistan has killed at least eight civilians, officials said Saturday, as the war-torn country prepares for a "reduction in violence" under a deal between Taliban militants and the United States. The incident took place in the eastern province of Nangarhar on Friday when a vehicle carrying civilians was struck, according to Ataullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor. "The target of the attack was Taliban militants who wanted to establish checkpoints on the road, but unfortunately civilians were hit," he told AFP, putting the death toll at eight. Also read: I urge the United States to stop killing our people: Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai Talib Khan, a relative of the dead, told AFP the victims had been driving home from a picnic when their truck was hit, killing everyone inside. Another relative, Shah Mir, 70, said: "No other breadwinner is left in my house, all my three sons were killed. I have a dozen grandchildren, I don't know how to bring them up." It was not immediately clear who bombed the vehicle, but the US and Afghan militaries are the only forces in Afghanistan conducting air strikes. Also read: Eight including newborn killed in airstrike in Afghanistan's Khost province A US military spokesman said they were "looking into the incident" and an Afghan defence ministry spokesman said they had launched an investigation. The strike comes after US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Thursday an agreement with the Taliban was in place for a "conditions-based" seven-day reduction in violence. The move is part of a long quest to forge a deal that could eventually lead to a comprehensive ceasefire. It was not clear when the reduction in violence would start, a Taliban official said it was imminent and a US official said Friday it would begin "really soon". A UN agency in Afghanistan in December reported that more than 100,000 Afghan civilians had been killed or wounded over the past decade. A grim milestone after more than 18 years of war since US and NATO allies invaded the country following the September 11 attacks in 2001.

Eight civilians killed in Afghanistan air strike: Officials

Afghanistan as the pawns to the devastating international and regional power games has been caught in uninterrupted civil and proxy wars since 1978. With the collapse of the Taliban regime and the establishment of a new political system in 2001, a mood of optimism and expectations for a better future swept the country. But, with the re-rise of the Taliban as an insurgent group in 2005 and the triple transitions (security, political and economic) unfolded in the country in 2014, the situation once again turned dreadful. Heightened insurgency, increased crime rates and the destructive activities of the terrorist groups ravaged every nook and corner of the country. Alongside, the economic turmoil, brain drain and emigration become the major social dilemmas affecting the everyday life of the citizens.&nbsp;

Over the last decade, the international community’s agendas of ending the conflict in Afghanistan have been focused on either rigorous military campaigns or abortive peace negotiations. Unfortunately, the fact that the conflict in the country is more of an economic phenomenon has been mostly degraded in the national and international agendas of conflict resolution in Afghanistan. The cost of war on terror as well as the cost of seeking peace and negotiated settlement with the Taliban through various mechanisms e.g., the high peace council, numerous peace processes in different countries and the substantial tribute payments to the terrorist networks and tribal chieftains through various formal and informal channels have been massive over the past years. On an average every year, 60 per cent of the national budget of Afghanistan and a significant portion of the off-budget funds and the foreign aid have been channelled to defence and security sectors and peacemaking projects. With rare resources, remaining for developmental programmes.&nbsp;

Similarly, According to a recent report by Pentagon, out of an estimated $45 billion cost of Afghanistan war for the US in 2018, just 1.7 per cent is the economic aid the rest all have been spent on bullets and probably gifts to local and external peace brokers. In this way, over the past 17 years, the situation in Afghanistan has turned worst, and the Afghan war has become a nightmare for the US and international allies. &nbsp;Did the international community and the government of Afghanistan degrade the more significant remedy (i.e., better economic opportunities) as a viable path for conflict resolution in Afghanistan? Yes, they did. &nbsp;

A moment of deliberation on nature and the dynamics of the ongoing war in Afghanistan would indicate that among the many factors that fuel the conflict and political instability in the country, one decisive factor is the socioeconomic crisis, particularity massive unemployment, poverty, and adult illiteracy. Based on the recent household survey data of the central statistic organisation of Afghanistan, more than half the population of the country, i.e., 54.5 per cent are living below the poverty line and 24 per cent of the active labour force is unemployed. In addition, inequitable distribution of wealth, income and rent is also remarkably high. &nbsp;

While, it is acknowledgeable that there is a hard-core ideology (at the leadership level) that the terrorist movements like the Taliban, ISIL-KP, and other such groups, carry. But at the grass root levels, a large number of people fighting for the Taliban and other insurgent groups are the non-ideological – employed soldiers, who do not fight for the cause of an ideology or the international Jihad propaganda as such but for mere a subsistence livelihood, in a situation where no alternative is available for them. Further, due to an overall chaotic situation in the country, there is a considerable gap between legal and illegal earning opportunities, which have enormously boosted incentives for the later. On a nutshell, the political economy of group access to resources (mines, minerals, and opium trade) at the top levels and the socio-economic ills like poverty, adult illiteracy, and unemployment at micro levels are the significant contributing factors to the perpetuating conflict in Afghanistan. &nbsp;

Indeed, the government of Afghanistan and the international community have failed to tackle the root causes of conflict; increasing poverty, alarming levels of unemployment, widespread corruption and the weak rule of law in the country. The provision of better opportunities for sustainable employment and income, which could have essentially encouraged hundreds of thousands of people to put down their guns and procure their livelihoods through dignified jobs, has not only not been in equal footing with other remedies (war and peace negotiations) part of national and international agendas. But such opportunities have enormously been reducing over the last years. The dearth of legal and sustainable sources of income and employment has compelled thousands to either personally take-up illegal activities; drug producing and trafficking, abductions, assassinations, robbery, illegal mining and various other forms of crimes or be easily recruited by the organised terror networks to carry destructive activities. &nbsp;

Due to the very problem of insecurity, on the other hand, the private and foreign investments, which are the primary sources of jobs in many countries, are insignificant in Afghanistan. The loss of the confidence of the investors and producer, the flight of the capital and brain drain have been growing over the past years, more so since 2014. Peace negotiations with few tourists’ leaders here and there and the counterterrorism strategies cannot go successful in Afghanistan unless the remedy is sought in grass root levels. When a large number of the population is impoverished and deprived of a dignified source of living, they can easily fall prey in the hands of terror groups other than the current ones, anytime in the future. Therefore, the provision of sustainable sources of jobs and income need to be seriously taken into considerations for lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan. One such feasible means at the moment is the public investment in the establishment of small and medium scale labour-intensive factories and the reactivation of the country’s state-owned enterprises. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Public sector enterprises have a long history in Afghanistan. For the first time, during the second term reign of Amir Sher Ali (1868-79) few factories were established in Kabul. The decades of planning (1953-1973) were comparatively a period of significant industrialisation, infrastructure building, and economic progress in Afghanistan. A wide variety of firms from cotton mills to large-scale public transportation enterprises, construction firms, electricity-generating factories, arms-producing factories, public utilities, agricultural cooperatives, and insurance firms, were built. These enterprises at times could provide up to 60 per cent of the revenues of the governments, and their products could to a reasonable extent fulfill the demands of the government institutions and the domestic markets (MoF, Afg).&nbsp;

The government of Afghanistan had fully owned 64 fully or semi-operational public sector enterprises, locally known as Tasady in 2004 (MoF, Afg). Though not in good shape and full operation, still few SOEs have a significant market share in their relevant sectors, like the electrical utility company (Sherkat-e-Breshna), Afghan Telecom, and the Ariana Airlines, etc. However, on the one side, most of these enterprises were damaged during the wars of the 90s and on the other side, with the adaptation of Afghanistan to the neoliberal economic ideology these enterprises were impelled to privatization and dissolution. Since 2005 when the privatisation plan was approved, some 26 of the SOEs were either privatized, changed to public companies or dissolved (MoF, Af).&nbsp;

In the absence of a progressing private sector, the government is obliged to play the role of the entrepreneur in the economy. At the moment, to prevent a larger humanitarian crisis caused by war, drought, and economic turmoil, the government of Afghanistan needs to undertake a robust social security system. Under the current critical situation, the state-owned enterprises could be the best policy instruments in the hands of the government to fight unemployment, inflation, and poverty in the country. If the half-remained Skeleton of the SOEs in Afghanistan are rescued from the looting under the labels of privatisation and if enough investments are made for their re-operationalization and capacity expansion, they would, directly and indirectly, provide a sustainable source of living for a significant portion of workers, who are otherwise easy preys in the hands of the terrorist groups. &nbsp;

Currently, along with the US and Russia, almost every country in the region from Pakistan to Iran, China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and recently Turkey are trying to have their share of play in the ongoing peace negotiations with the Taliban, often by circumventing the people and government of Afghanistan; scattered initiatives that can only make the peace process more complex and challenging. 
 
However, few of these countries have something tangible to offer for the betterment of the situation in Afghanistan, rather than the pursuance of their strategic interests. It should not go unacknowledged that few countries like India on the other hand, have been the most reliable partners to the development of Afghanistan over the past years. They can continue to win people’s hearts and minds through their soft policies of developmental interventions. Such assistance as infrastructural development and job creation for the ordinary people can best lead Afghanistan towards lasting peace and stability by boosting the capabilities of the people and eternally stimulating the grassroots’ voices for peace and cooperation with the government. &nbsp;

As India has a long history of running public sector enterprises, the government of Afghanistan can seek technical assistance from India and other such countries for the re-operationalisation of its SOEs and establishment of additional labour-intensive processing and manufacturing units in Afghanistan. The need for the robust participation of the government and the assistance of the international community for countering economic downturn, unemployment and poverty are inevitable for the resolution of the uninterrupted 50 years of conflict and the establishment of lasting peace in Afghanistan. At the end of the day, it would be more of sustainable jobs and income, not bullets and complicated peace rounds that will persuade a large number of people to stand alongside the democratically elected government of Afghanistan against the terrorist oppositions.&nbsp;&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

&nbsp;

Afghanistan as the pawns to the devastating international and regional power games has been caught in uninterrupted civil and proxy wars since 1978. With the collapse of the Taliban regime and the establishment of a new political system in 2001, a mood of optimism and expectations for a better future swept the country.

Afghanistan as the pawns to the devastating international and regional power games has been caught in uninterrupted civil and proxy wars since 1978. With the collapse of the Taliban regime and the establishment of a new political system in 2001, a mood of optimism and expectations for a better future swept the country. But, with the re-rise of the Taliban as an insurgent group in 2005 and the triple transitions (security, political and economic) unfolded in the country in 2014, the situation once again turned dreadful. Heightened insurgency, increased crime rates and the destructive activities of the terrorist groups ravaged every nook and corner of the country. Alongside, the economic turmoil, brain drain and emigration become the major social dilemmas affecting the everyday life of the citizens. Over the last decade, the international community’s agendas of ending the conflict in Afghanistan have been focused on either rigorous military campaigns or abortive peace negotiations. Unfortunately, the fact that the conflict in the country is more of an economic phenomenon has been mostly degraded in the national and international agendas of conflict resolution in Afghanistan. The cost of war on terror as well as the cost of seeking peace and negotiated settlement with the Taliban through various mechanisms e.g., the high peace council, numerous peace processes in different countries and the substantial tribute payments to the terrorist networks and tribal chieftains through various formal and informal channels have been massive over the past years. On an average every year, 60 per cent of the national budget of Afghanistan and a significant portion of the off-budget funds and the foreign aid have been channelled to defence and security sectors and peacemaking projects. With rare resources, remaining for developmental programmes. Similarly, According to a recent report by Pentagon, out of an estimated $45 billion cost of Afghanistan war for the US in 2018, just 1.7 per cent is the economic aid the rest all have been spent on bullets and probably gifts to local and external peace brokers. In this way, over the past 17 years, the situation in Afghanistan has turned worst, and the Afghan war has become a nightmare for the US and international allies. Did the international community and the government of Afghanistan degrade the more significant remedy (i.e., better economic opportunities) as a viable path for conflict resolution in Afghanistan? Yes, they did. A moment of deliberation on nature and the dynamics of the ongoing war in Afghanistan would indicate that among the many factors that fuel the conflict and political instability in the country, one decisive factor is the socioeconomic crisis, particularity massive unemployment, poverty, and adult illiteracy. Based on the recent household survey data of the central statistic organisation of Afghanistan, more than half the population of the country, i.e., 54.5 per cent are living below the poverty line and 24 per cent of the active labour force is unemployed. In addition, inequitable distribution of wealth, income and rent is also remarkably high. While, it is acknowledgeable that there is a hard-core ideology (at the leadership level) that the terrorist movements like the Taliban, ISIL-KP, and other such groups, carry. But at the grass root levels, a large number of people fighting for the Taliban and other insurgent groups are the non-ideological – employed soldiers, who do not fight for the cause of an ideology or the international Jihad propaganda as such but for mere a subsistence livelihood, in a situation where no alternative is available for them. Further, due to an overall chaotic situation in the country, there is a considerable gap between legal and illegal earning opportunities, which have enormously boosted incentives for the later. On a nutshell, the political economy of group access to resources (mines, minerals, and opium trade) at the top levels and the socio-economic ills like poverty, adult illiteracy, and unemployment at micro levels are the significant contributing factors to the perpetuating conflict in Afghanistan. Indeed, the government of Afghanistan and the international community have failed to tackle the root causes of conflict; increasing poverty, alarming levels of unemployment, widespread corruption and the weak rule of law in the country. The provision of better opportunities for sustainable employment and income, which could have essentially encouraged hundreds of thousands of people to put down their guns and procure their livelihoods through dignified jobs, has not only not been in equal footing with other remedies (war and peace negotiations) part of national and international agendas. But such opportunities have enormously been reducing over the last years. The dearth of legal and sustainable sources of income and employment has compelled thousands to either personally take-up illegal activities; drug producing and trafficking, abductions, assassinations, robbery, illegal mining and various other forms of crimes or be easily recruited by the organised terror networks to carry destructive activities. Due to the very problem of insecurity, on the other hand, the private and foreign investments, which are the primary sources of jobs in many countries, are insignificant in Afghanistan. The loss of the confidence of the investors and producer, the flight of the capital and brain drain have been growing over the past years, more so since 2014. Peace negotiations with few tourists’ leaders here and there and the counterterrorism strategies cannot go successful in Afghanistan unless the remedy is sought in grass root levels. When a large number of the population is impoverished and deprived of a dignified source of living, they can easily fall prey in the hands of terror groups other than the current ones, anytime in the future. Therefore, the provision of sustainable sources of jobs and income need to be seriously taken into considerations for lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan. One such feasible means at the moment is the public investment in the establishment of small and medium scale labour-intensive factories and the reactivation of the country’s state-owned enterprises. Public sector enterprises have a long history in Afghanistan. For the first time, during the second term reign of Amir Sher Ali (1868-79) few factories were established in Kabul. The decades of planning (1953-1973) were comparatively a period of significant industrialisation, infrastructure building, and economic progress in Afghanistan. A wide variety of firms from cotton mills to large-scale public transportation enterprises, construction firms, electricity-generating factories, arms-producing factories, public utilities, agricultural cooperatives, and insurance firms, were built. These enterprises at times could provide up to 60 per cent of the revenues of the governments, and their products could to a reasonable extent fulfill the demands of the government institutions and the domestic markets (MoF, Afg). The government of Afghanistan had fully owned 64 fully or semi-operational public sector enterprises, locally known as Tasady in 2004 (MoF, Afg). Though not in good shape and full operation, still few SOEs have a significant market share in their relevant sectors, like the electrical utility company (Sherkat-e-Breshna), Afghan Telecom, and the Ariana Airlines, etc. However, on the one side, most of these enterprises were damaged during the wars of the 90s and on the other side, with the adaptation of Afghanistan to the neoliberal economic ideology these enterprises were impelled to privatization and dissolution. Since 2005 when the privatisation plan was approved, some 26 of the SOEs were either privatized, changed to public companies or dissolved (MoF, Af). In the absence of a progressing private sector, the government is obliged to play the role of the entrepreneur in the economy. At the moment, to prevent a larger humanitarian crisis caused by war, drought, and economic turmoil, the government of Afghanistan needs to undertake a robust social security system. Under the current critical situation, the state-owned enterprises could be the best policy instruments in the hands of the government to fight unemployment, inflation, and poverty in the country. If the half-remained Skeleton of the SOEs in Afghanistan are rescued from the looting under the labels of privatisation and if enough investments are made for their re-operationalization and capacity expansion, they would, directly and indirectly, provide a sustainable source of living for a significant portion of workers, who are otherwise easy preys in the hands of the terrorist groups. Currently, along with the US and Russia, almost every country in the region from Pakistan to Iran, China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and recently Turkey are trying to have their share of play in the ongoing peace negotiations with the Taliban, often by circumventing the people and government of Afghanistan; scattered initiatives that can only make the peace process more complex and challenging. However, few of these countries have something tangible to offer for the betterment of the situation in Afghanistan, rather than the pursuance of their strategic interests. It should not go unacknowledged that few countries like India on the other hand, have been the most reliable partners to the development of Afghanistan over the past years. They can continue to win people’s hearts and minds through their soft policies of developmental interventions. Such assistance as infrastructural development and job creation for the ordinary people can best lead Afghanistan towards lasting peace and stability by boosting the capabilities of the people and eternally stimulating the grassroots’ voices for peace and cooperation with the government. As India has a long history of running public sector enterprises, the government of Afghanistan can seek technical assistance from India and other such countries for the re-operationalisation of its SOEs and establishment of additional labour-intensive processing and manufacturing units in Afghanistan. The need for the robust participation of the government and the assistance of the international community for countering economic downturn, unemployment and poverty are inevitable for the resolution of the uninterrupted 50 years of conflict and the establishment of lasting peace in Afghanistan. At the end of the day, it would be more of sustainable jobs and income, not bullets and complicated peace rounds that will persuade a large number of people to stand alongside the democratically elected government of Afghanistan against the terrorist oppositions. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

A viable path for boosting peace in Afghanistan

An air strike appears to have killed 12 members of an Afghan family, most of them children, the United Nations said, citing preliminary findings, as US and Afghan forces ramp up aerial bombardments against militants.

The latest incident brings to at least 21 -- including 14 children -- the number of civilians killed in air strikes in recent days, according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). &nbsp;

Sunday night's air strike destroyed a house in Wardak province near Kabul, killing 12 members of a family, UNAMA said in a statement late Tuesday.

The victims included 10 children aged six to 15 and two women.&nbsp;

The findings support earlier comments from provincial council member Ahmad Jahfari, who told AFP that 12 members of a family had been killed in an air strike targeting Taliban fighters.&nbsp;

A villager called Abdullah told AFP that two of his sisters died in the attack that he said claimed the lives of more than 12 civilians.&nbsp;

"Three other houses were also destroyed," Abdullah said.

"They wanted to bomb a Taliban prison about 100 metres (330 feet) from our house."

UNAMA is also reviewing reports of civilian casualties from "a number of alleged air strikes in other parts of the country", its statement said.

That includes "credible reports" that nine members of a family, including four children, were killed in an air strike on Saturday in the eastern province of Kapisa.&nbsp;

US Forces confirmed it had carried out an air strike in support of Afghan ground troops in Kapisa, but killed "only militants", spokesman David Butler said earlier.&nbsp;

It is not clear if the air strike in Wardak was carried out by US or Afghan forces.&nbsp;

Afghanistan's defence ministry is investigating both incidents, spokesman Ghafor Ahmad Jawed told AFP.

US Forces said it was reviewing "relevant and credible information" relating to its operations in Wardak.

"It isn't uncommon for insurgents to use these accusations to drive a wedge between the military and the population," US Forces spokesman Commander Grant Neeley added.&nbsp;

UNAMA expressed its "strong concern" at the rising number of civilian casualties from air strikes this year.

Air strikes killed or wounded 353 civilians in the first half, up 52 per cent from the same period in 2017.&nbsp;

The figure accounted for roughly seven per cent of total civilian casualties for the six-month period.&nbsp;

One of the worst incidents was in the northern province of Kunduz in April, when an Afghan air strike on an outdoor religious gathering in Dashte Archi killed or wounded 107 people, mostly children, a previous UNAMA report found.

The government and military said the strike had targeted a Taliban base where senior members of the group were planning attacks.

US and Afghan forces have dramatically increased air offensives against Taliban and Islamic State insurgents in the past year as they try to get the upper hand in the 17-year war. &nbsp;

US forces employed 746 weapons in July, which was the highest monthly total since November 2010, the most recent US Air Forces Central Command data shows.&nbsp;

That is more than double the 350 munitions used in July 2017, a month before US President Donald Trump announced his new strategy for Afghanistan that gave American forces greater leeway to go after militants.&nbsp;

Afghanistan's fledgling air force has also accelerated bombardments as the United States beefs up the country's aerial capability with more aircraft and better weapons.&nbsp;

An air strike appears to have killed 12 members of an Afghan family, most of them children, the United Nations said, citing preliminary findings, as US and Afghan forces ramp up aerial bombardments against militants.

An air strike appears to have killed 12 members of an Afghan family, most of them children, the United Nations said, citing preliminary findings, as US and Afghan forces ramp up aerial bombardments against militants. The latest incident brings to at least 21 -- including 14 children -- the number of civilians killed in air strikes in recent days, according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). Sunday night's air strike destroyed a house in Wardak province near Kabul, killing 12 members of a family, UNAMA said in a statement late Tuesday. The victims included 10 children aged six to 15 and two women. The findings support earlier comments from provincial council member Ahmad Jahfari, who told AFP that 12 members of a family had been killed in an air strike targeting Taliban fighters. A villager called Abdullah told AFP that two of his sisters died in the attack that he said claimed the lives of more than 12 civilians. "Three other houses were also destroyed," Abdullah said. "They wanted to bomb a Taliban prison about 100 metres (330 feet) from our house." UNAMA is also reviewing reports of civilian casualties from "a number of alleged air strikes in other parts of the country", its statement said. That includes "credible reports" that nine members of a family, including four children, were killed in an air strike on Saturday in the eastern province of Kapisa. US Forces confirmed it had carried out an air strike in support of Afghan ground troops in Kapisa, but killed "only militants", spokesman David Butler said earlier. It is not clear if the air strike in Wardak was carried out by US or Afghan forces. Afghanistan's defence ministry is investigating both incidents, spokesman Ghafor Ahmad Jawed told AFP. US Forces said it was reviewing "relevant and credible information" relating to its operations in Wardak. "It isn't uncommon for insurgents to use these accusations to drive a wedge between the military and the population," US Forces spokesman Commander Grant Neeley added. UNAMA expressed its "strong concern" at the rising number of civilian casualties from air strikes this year. Air strikes killed or wounded 353 civilians in the first half, up 52 per cent from the same period in 2017. The figure accounted for roughly seven per cent of total civilian casualties for the six-month period. One of the worst incidents was in the northern province of Kunduz in April, when an Afghan air strike on an outdoor religious gathering in Dashte Archi killed or wounded 107 people, mostly children, a previous UNAMA report found. The government and military said the strike had targeted a Taliban base where senior members of the group were planning attacks. US and Afghan forces have dramatically increased air offensives against Taliban and Islamic State insurgents in the past year as they try to get the upper hand in the 17-year war. US forces employed 746 weapons in July, which was the highest monthly total since November 2010, the most recent US Air Forces Central Command data shows. That is more than double the 350 munitions used in July 2017, a month before US President Donald Trump announced his new strategy for Afghanistan that gave American forces greater leeway to go after militants. Afghanistan's fledgling air force has also accelerated bombardments as the United States beefs up the country's aerial capability with more aircraft and better weapons.

10 Afghan children, 2 women dead in air strike: UN initial report

Afghanistan forces killed an important Islamic State (IS) commander in an air strike, one year after he defected from the Taliban and established a new IS foothold in the country, security officials said.

Qari Hekmat was killed in a drone strike on Thursday afternoon in the Darz Aab district of Afghanistan`s northern Jawzjan province, said Hanif Rezaee, spokesman for the Afghan National Army Air Corps.

He said Mawlavi Habib Ur Rahman has been appointed as his IS successor in the north of the country.&nbsp

The militant group, also known as Daesh, established a new foothold in the province last year when Hekmat defected from the Taliban, attracting the attention of US forces.

IS claimed responsibility for suicide bombs last month near Shi`ite mosques in Herat and Kabul. Both the Western-backed government in Kabul and the main Islamist militant group, the Taliban, fight Islamic State.

The militant group first appeared in Afghanistan three years ago. As well as its main stronghold in the eastern province of Nangarhar, on the border with Pakistan, its fighters have been active in northern Afghanistan.&nbsp

While sectarian violence in mainly Sunni Muslim Afghanistan was previously rare, a series of attacks over recent years, many claimed by IS, have killed hundreds of Shi`ites.&nbsp

Qari Hekmat was killed in a drone strike on Thursday afternoon in the Darz Aab district of Afghanistan`s northern Jawzjan province, said Hanif Rezaee, spokesman for the Afghan National Army Air Corps

Afghanistan forces killed an important Islamic State (IS) commander in an air strike, one year after he defected from the Taliban and established a new IS foothold in the country, security officials said. Qari Hekmat was killed in a drone strike on Thursday afternoon in the Darz Aab district of Afghanistan`s northern Jawzjan province, said Hanif Rezaee, spokesman for the Afghan National Army Air Corps. He said Mawlavi Habib Ur Rahman has been appointed as his IS successor in the north of the country. The militant group, also known as Daesh, established a new foothold in the province last year when Hekmat defected from the Taliban, attracting the attention of US forces. IS claimed responsibility for suicide bombs last month near Shi`ite mosques in Herat and Kabul. Both the Western-backed government in Kabul and the main Islamist militant group, the Taliban, fight Islamic State. The militant group first appeared in Afghanistan three years ago. As well as its main stronghold in the eastern province of Nangarhar, on the border with Pakistan, its fighters have been active in northern Afghanistan. While sectarian violence in mainly Sunni Muslim Afghanistan was previously rare, a series of attacks over recent years, many claimed by IS, have killed hundreds of Shi`ites.

Afghan air strike kills Islamic State commander

A US airstrike has killed 16 policemen in Afghanistan, officials said Saturday, the latest setback to Washington&#39;s efforts to bring peace to the war-torn country.

The incident took place in Helmand province on Friday as Afghan security forces attempted to clear a village of Taliban militants, Salam Afghan, a police spokesman, told AFP.

&quot;In the strike, 16 Afghan policemen were killed including two commanders. Two other policemen were wounded,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

The strike hit a compound in Gereshk district in Helmand, large parts of which are under Taliban control.

&quot;A US-supported (Afghan security) operation...resulted in the deaths of... friendly Afghan forces who were gathered in a compound,&quot; NATO&#39;s mission in Afghanistan said in a statement.&nbsp;

&quot;We would like to express our deepest condolences to the families affected by this unfortunate incident,&quot; the statement said, adding there would be a probe into what happened.

An interior ministry spokesman, Najeeb Danish, said a ministry delegation had been sent to the area to investigate and help families of the victims.

Helmand for years was the centrepiece of the US and British military intervention in Afghanistan.

But the Taliban now effectively controls or contests 10 of Helmand&#39;s 14 districts, blighted by a huge opium harvest that helps fund the insurgency.&nbsp;

In April, some 300 US Marines returned to the province as embattled Afghan security forces struggle to beat back the resurgent Taliban.

The surge helped Afghan security forces, backed by US air strikes, recapture Nawa district in Helmand six months ago.&nbsp;

The operation came as Pentagon chief Jim Mattis finalised plans to present a new Afghanistan strategy to President Donald Trump in a bid to reverse what US generals call a &quot;stalemate&quot; at best.&nbsp;

In February, a US airstrike in Sangin killed at least 18 civilians, mostly women and children.

Last November 32 Afghan civilians were killed in a US airstrike in the northeastern province of Kunduz.

In October 2015, a US air strike hit a hospital run by Medecins Sans Frontieres, killing 42 people and sparking international outrage.

The incident took place in Helmand province on Friday as Afghan security forces attempted to clear a village of Taliban militants

A US airstrike has killed 16 policemen in Afghanistan, officials said Saturday, the latest setback to Washington's efforts to bring peace to the war-torn country. The incident took place in Helmand province on Friday as Afghan security forces attempted to clear a village of Taliban militants, Salam Afghan, a police spokesman, told AFP. "In the strike, 16 Afghan policemen were killed including two commanders. Two other policemen were wounded," he said. The strike hit a compound in Gereshk district in Helmand, large parts of which are under Taliban control. "A US-supported (Afghan security) operation...resulted in the deaths of... friendly Afghan forces who were gathered in a compound," NATO's mission in Afghanistan said in a statement. "We would like to express our deepest condolences to the families affected by this unfortunate incident," the statement said, adding there would be a probe into what happened. An interior ministry spokesman, Najeeb Danish, said a ministry delegation had been sent to the area to investigate and help families of the victims. Helmand for years was the centrepiece of the US and British military intervention in Afghanistan. But the Taliban now effectively controls or contests 10 of Helmand's 14 districts, blighted by a huge opium harvest that helps fund the insurgency. In April, some 300 US Marines returned to the province as embattled Afghan security forces struggle to beat back the resurgent Taliban. The surge helped Afghan security forces, backed by US air strikes, recapture Nawa district in Helmand six months ago. The operation came as Pentagon chief Jim Mattis finalised plans to present a new Afghanistan strategy to President Donald Trump in a bid to reverse what US generals call a "stalemate" at best. In February, a US airstrike in Sangin killed at least 18 civilians, mostly women and children. Last November 32 Afghan civilians were killed in a US airstrike in the northeastern province of Kunduz. In October 2015, a US air strike hit a hospital run by Medecins Sans Frontieres, killing 42 people and sparking international outrage.

16 Afghan policemen killed in US strike

An ongoing United Nations probe about the casualties in the US airstrike in Afghanistan has found that at least 32 civilians were killed in the strike in the volatile Afghan province of Kunduz last week.

&quot;Preliminary findings indicate that the aerial operation killed at least 32 civilians and injured an additional 19 civilians, the vast majority of whom were women and children,&quot; read a statement by the UN&#39;s mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).&nbsp;

The UNAMA had announced on Sunday that it was investigating the allegations about the strike.

UN&#39;s special envoy to Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, said the loss of civilian lives in the country was &quot;unacceptable&quot; and &quot;undermines efforts toward building peace and stability.&quot;

&quot;When conducting aerial operations, international military forces should take all feasible measures to minimise civilian harm, including full analysis of the context for aerial strikes,&quot; the envoy said.

Local officials said at least 30 people had been killed in the strikes which took place last Thursday triggering angry protests in Kunduz. Many of the victims were children whose mutilated bodies were paraded through the streets by grieving relatives, international news agency AFP reported.

US forces have conceded that the strike &quot;very likely&quot; resulted in civilian casualties and said they will fully investigate the incident, AFP reported.

Civilian casualties caused by NATO forces in their 15-year campaign against the insurgents, has often been criticised by the government and the public.

The killings came just days before the US presidential election. Surprisingly neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump have raised the issue of Afghanistan in the course of their campaigns even though the situation there will be an urgent matter for the new president.

Thursday&#39;s airstrikes in Kunduz came after two American soldiers and three Afghan special forces soldiers were killed in anti-Taliban operations in the Boz-e-Kandahari area near the provincial capital.

UN says civilian casualties from airstrikes caused by by pro-government forces in Afghanistan have increased by 42 per cent this year, AFP reported.

(WION with inputs from AFP)

 
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The UN said the loss of civilian lives was 'unacceptable'

An ongoing United Nations probe about the casualties in the US airstrike in Afghanistan has found that at least 32 civilians were killed in the strike in the volatile Afghan province of Kunduz last week. "Preliminary findings indicate that the aerial operation killed at least 32 civilians and injured an additional 19 civilians, the vast majority of whom were women and children," read a statement by the UN's mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The UNAMA had announced on Sunday that it was investigating the allegations about the strike. UN's special envoy to Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, said the loss of civilian lives in the country was "unacceptable" and "undermines efforts toward building peace and stability." "When conducting aerial operations, international military forces should take all feasible measures to minimise civilian harm, including full analysis of the context for aerial strikes," the envoy said. Local officials said at least 30 people had been killed in the strikes which took place last Thursday triggering angry protests in Kunduz. Many of the victims were children whose mutilated bodies were paraded through the streets by grieving relatives, international news agency AFP reported. US forces have conceded that the strike "very likely" resulted in civilian casualties and said they will fully investigate the incident, AFP reported. Civilian casualties caused by NATO forces in their 15-year campaign against the insurgents, has often been criticised by the government and the public. The killings came just days before the US presidential election. Surprisingly neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump have raised the issue of Afghanistan in the course of their campaigns even though the situation there will be an urgent matter for the new president. Thursday's airstrikes in Kunduz came after two American soldiers and three Afghan special forces soldiers were killed in anti-Taliban operations in the Boz-e-Kandahari area near the provincial capital. UN says civilian casualties from airstrikes caused by by pro-government forces in Afghanistan have increased by 42 per cent this year, AFP reported. (WION with inputs from AFP)

US airstrike in Afghanistan killed 32 civilians: UN