US Forces Killed 33 Civilians in 2016: NATO
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – NATO confirmed Thursday that US forces in Afghanistan killed 33 Afghan citizens in Kunduz last year in a single incident highlighting civilian casualties.
The incident on November 3 saw US troops call for air reinforcement as they reportedly engaged with Taliban forces hiding in civilian houses in a village in the volatile northern province.
Civilian men, women, and children were "likely inside the buildings", the report said. Two US forces and three Afghan commandos also died in the firing.
The civilian deaths sparked outrage at the time, with victims' relatives parading the mutilated bodies of dead children piled into open trucks through the streets of Kunduz city.
"The investigation determined, regretfully, that 33 civilians were killed and 27 others wounded," NATO's Afghan mission Resolute Support said in a statement, AFP reported.
"To defend themselves and Afghan forces, US forces returned fire in self-defense at Taliban who were using civilian houses as firing positions," the statement added.
"Regardless of the circumstances, I deeply regret the loss of innocent lives," said General John Nicholson, commander of US forces – Afghanistan.
The United Nations has also launched an investigation, calling any loss of civilian life "unacceptable", with its findings due to be released by the end of this month.
Taliban militants briefly overran the city of Kunduz, the provincial capital of the same name, in early October last year. They had briefly seized control of the city a year earlier but had been pushed out of Kunduz weeks later.
Taliban militants were removed from power following the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan, but have stepped up their activities in recent months, attempting to overrun several provinces. Their militancy continues, however, despite the presence of NATO troops.
