KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - An Afghan official says at least five civilians and 35 insurgents have been killed in an airstrike by Afghan forces in northern Kunduz province.

Nematullah Temori, spokesman for the provincial governor in Kunduz, said Tuesday that 55 civilians were wounded in the attack a day earlier in Dashti Archi district. He said a government delegation is investigating the incident.

Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish earlier said the airstrike targeted Taliban fighters and killed more than 30 of them, including nine commanders. He said large number of fighters had gathered in the area to hold a military parade.

The Taliban said in a statement that the airstrike hit a madrassa, or Islamic religious school, killing and wounding more than 100 clerics, religious students and other civilians. </s> At least 13 civilians, mostly children, were killed in an airstrike by international troops in northern Afghanistan's Kunduz province over the weekend, the United Nations mission in the war-torn country said Monday.

Denouncing the civilian casualties, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in a statement urged the authorities to probe the tragedy and take steps to ensure civilians are not harmed during military operations. </s> KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) — The death toll of civilians killed by NATO-led forces’ airstrikes in northern Afghanistan’s Kunduz province has risen to 31 with 17 others injured, the provincial government said on Friday.

“The latest figures showed that 31 civilians lost their lives and 17 others injured during the Thursday’s military operation and subsequent air raids conducted by foreign forces on outskirts of Kunduz city,” it said in a statement.

Among the victims were several women and children, the statement said, adding that an investigation has been going on into the incident and further details will be released afterwards.

On early Thursday, Afghan security forces conducted an operation in Buzi Kandahari village, outside provincial capital the Kunduz city, 250 km north of Kabul.

The NATO-led forces were also supporting the Afghan troops during the operation against the Taliban during which the local troops has called in airstrikes that inflected casualties among the residents, according to local officials.

Two U.S. troops, three Afghan soldiers and several militants were killed by the clashes.

The NATO-led Resolute Support (RS) mission in a statement put on its twitter account on Thursday said, “Airstrikes were conducted in Kunduz to defend friendly forces under fire. All civilians casualty claims will be investigated.”

The Kunduz province and neighboring Baghlan and Takhar provinces have been the scene of heavy clashes over the past couple of months as Taliban has been trying to challenge the government forces in the once relatively peaceful region.

More than 2,560 civilians were killed and over 5,830 injured between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30 this year in conflict-related incidents across Afghanistan, according to the latest figures released by UN mission in the country.

Ground engagements remained the largest cause of civilian casualties, followed by suicide attacks and improvised explosive device (IED) explosions.
• Afghan officials: blast kills 9 people on way to wedding </s> Afghan security forces with support of coalition forces launched air raid on Chardara district in northern Kunduz province on early Thursday, killing at least 20 civilians and injuring a dozen others, local residents and officials said.

The airstrike was conducted on three residential houses in Sarak Bala village of Chardara district, leaving many civilians dead including women and children, local residents said.

Confirming the incident, the provincial governor’s spokesman Nimatullah Timory said that a delegation has been dispatched to the district to probe the incident.

The Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish, however, confirmed the death of 14 civilians in the airstrike .

It was the third airstrike in Kunduz which caused casualties to civilians after an airstrike in Dasht-e-Archi district that left over 100 dead to civilians mostly children. </s> Civilians killed in airstrikes that followed 2 US deaths in Afghanistan

Afghan army soldiers run for position during a firefight in Kunduz city in October 2015. Coalition military officials said Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016, that two U.S. servicemembers were killed and two others injured during an attack in Kunduz.

KABUL, Afghanistan - U.S. airstrikes launched after two American servicemembers were killed in in raid in Afghanistan’s northern Kunduz province claimed the lives of dozens of civilians, including women and children, officials said Thursday.

The troops came under fire during a joint mission with Afghan partners to clear a Taliban position near the provincial capital, NATO’s mission and local officials said. Four American servicemembers were also injured.

NATO would not reveal the identities of the casualties until their next of kin were notified.

Foreign forces conducted airstrikes in the area after the troops came under attack, Kunduz police chief, Qasim Jangalbagh said. He told The Associated Press that the initial target of the raid was two Taliban commanders, who were killed in the fighting along with over 60 other insurgents.

NATO forces were assisting Afghan commandos during a raid in the Buze Kandahari suburb of Kunduz city on Wednesday night when they came under insurgent fire, Kunduz police spokesman Hijratullah Akbari said.

Tribal leader Hafizullah, who like many Afghans uses just one name, said the airstrikes killed about 30 civilians, including women and children. And the Pajhwok news agency cited a provincial council member who claimed that at least 100 civilians had been killed and wounded in the overnight airstrikes.

The casualties outraged residents, who protested by carrying the corpses in Kunduz city on Thursday morning, Hafizullah said.

Taza Gul, a Kunduz resident, told Pajhwok: “I was working on my farm when the bombardment started. On coming home, I saw seven members of my family, including women and children, killed in the raids.”

Photographs posted on Twitter showed the corpses of young children allegedly killed by the airstrikes with remarks condemning the United States.

Regarding the civilian casualties, Gen. Charles Cleveland, spokesman for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said: “As part of an Afghan operation, friendly forces received direct fire and airstrikes were conducted to defend themselves. We take all allegations of civilian casualties very seriously.”

Cleveland said NATO and Afghan officials would conduct an investigation into the incident.

The office of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said in a statement Thursday that the president was shocked by the news of the civilian deaths and had “directed the security and defense officials and Kunduz governor to take all necessary steps during operations to prevent civilian casualties.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said he was “deeply saddened” by the U.S. casualties. “We will honor their sacrifice by finishing our important mission in Afghanistan,” he said.

Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said that three Afghan commandos were killed in the clashes and seven others were wounded.

Fighting across Afghanistan has been particularly intense in recent months, with the Taliban apparently determined to occupy a provincial capital. The insurgents are currently threatening six provincial capitals, including Kunduz, and U.S. advisers have been working more closely with Afghan units to push the militants back, putting them at greater risk than before.

Civilians are at risk, too. The fighting claimed the lives of nearly 8,400 civilians during the first nine months or this year, according to the United Nations mission in the country.

Last month, Taliban fighters briefly infiltrated parts of Kunduz, Afghanistan’s fifth-largest city. The insurgents occupied the entire city last year before being expelled by government forces.

Fighting has continued in Kunduz province, were about 100 NATO advisers and an undisclosed number of other troops are assisting the Afghans.

The servicemembers’ deaths come two weeks after two other Americans, including Army Sgt. Douglas J. Riney, were killed in an insider attack near a NATO coalition base in Kabul. More than 2,200 U.S. military personnel have died in Afghanistan since 2001. </s> At least 14 people, including women and children, have been killed in an Afghan-U.S. air strike near the northern city of Kunduz, officials say.

Afghan officials said it was still unclear whether the casualties had been caused by Afghan or U.S. aircraft, both of which flew missions in support of an operation on the ground on July 19.

A statement from the U.S. military said there was no indication that its planes were responsible.

Nematullah Temori, a spokesman for the Kunduz governor, said women and children were among 14 people killed in the raid in Chardara, a district outside Kunduz.

Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish confirmed the death toll, adding that two more civilians were injured in the air strike.

In April, an Afghan air strike on a religious school in the Dasht-e Archi district of Kunduz left at least 50 people dead, including civilians.

Military operations by both Afghan forces and militants have been stepped up in recent months, with civilian casualties reaching a new record in 2018.

According to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, 1,692 civilians were killed between January 1 and June 30 — the highest figure reported for that period in the past nine years.

The UN report also said that air strikes had increased substantially, with civilian casualties from aerial attacks rising by 52 percent in the first half of the year to 353 killed and wounded.

Separately, at least 12 police officers were killed when Taliban militants stormed a checkpoint in the Imam Saheb district of Kunduz, according to a provincial council member.

In the eastern province of Ghazni, Taliban fighters launched a wave of attacks, killing at least eight police and wounding seven others, provincial Governor Saib Khan Elham said on July 20.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
• Afghanistan probes deaths of 14 civilians after US airstrikes
• Families Of Kunduz Airstrike Victims Ask For Justice; former president, Hamid Karzai has called the incident a war crime and inhuman </s> The Afghan government has released new drone video footage as it defends an airstrike it carried out this week in Taliban-controlled Kunduz province. The government says more than 30 Taliban fighters were killed in Monday's airstrike on a religious school. Eyewitnesses said numerous civilians including children died in the strike. Mohammad Habibzada reports. </s> 11 killed in US drone attack in Afghanistan, official says

US soldier killed, 2 others injured in 'apparent insider attack' in Afghanistan

At least 14 civilians including women and children were killed in an Afghan-U.S. aerial operation in northern Kunduz province, officials said Friday.

Two other civilians were wounded in the strike, which took place in Char Dara district of the province, Ministry of Defense Spokesman Mohammad Radmanish said.

At least three residential houses were destroyed in the attack, a spokesman for the governor of Kunduz, Enaamuddin Rahmani, and provincial council member Aminullah Ayiddin said.

On April, an Afghan airstrike on a religious school in the Dasht-e-Archi district of Kunduz left at least 50 people dead, including civilians.

Military operations by both Afghan and insurgent groups in Afghanistan have intensified in recent months, with civilian casualties hitting a new record in 2018, according to U.N. data.

According to the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), 1,692 civilians were killed between January 1 and June 30 - the highest figure reported for that period over the last nine years.

Separately, at least 12 police officers were killed after Taliban terrorists stormed a checkpoint in Imam Saheb district of Kunduz, a provincial council member said. A police chief for the district put the casualties at six dead and five injured. </s> KUNDUZ, Afghanistan: As many as 14 people, including women and children, were killed in an air strike carried out during an operation by Afghan security forces near the northern city of Kunduz on Thursday, officials said.

The civilian deaths add to a total that reached record levels in the first half of the year, according to a United Nations report this week that noted a sharp jump in casualties from air strikes.

Nematullah Temori, a spokesman for the Kunduz governor, said the 14 killed in the raid in Chardara, a district outside Kunduz city that has long been fought over between Taliban and government security forces, included women and children.

The incident underlined the risks from the increased use of air power under a U.S. strategy designed to force the Taliban to accept peace talks. As well as conducting more air strikes of its own, the United States is also heavily assisting the fledgling Afghan air force.

As air strikes have increased, the U.N. report said civilian casualties from aerial attacks rose by 52 percent in the first half of the year to 353 killed and wounded and it urged forces to improve civilian protection in air operations.

Mohammad Radmanish, a spokesman for the ministry of defence, confirmed that a number of civilians had been killed but said the incident was still being investigated. He said it was unclear whether the strike had been conducted by the Afghan airforce or U.S. aircraft.

"An investigation team from Kabul has been deployed to the province to investigate the incident," he said. "For the moment it is difficult to say how many civilians were killed or wounded and who conducted the air strike."

There was no immediate comment from the headquarters of the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Kabul.

A statement from the Taliban said 28 civilians had been killed. It said most of the victims were women and children and blamed U.S. forces.

According to the United Nations, at least 1,692 civilians were killed in the conflict during the first half of the year, the highest total ever recorded in the equivalent period.

Kunduz, a key strategic target for the Taliban that briefly fell to the insurgents in 2015, has seen repeated incidents in which civilians have been killed by air strikes.

In April, dozens were killed by a strike on Dasht-i Archi district that local villagers said hit people attending a religious ceremony.
Fourteen civilians are killed in an airstrike near Kunduz.