Post by abu_rashid on Feb 19th, 2011 at 2:32pm
A US-led airstrike have killed at least 37 people and wounded several others in the troubled eastern Afghanistan amid growing discontent over such attacks.
Local media reports say the deadly strike took place in Kunar Province on Friday.
NATO has confirmed the incident, claiming that they were targeting “a prominent Taliban militant,” a Press TV correspondent reported.
Several women and children were among those killed in the attack on Kunar province.
Local residents say the airstrike targeted homes in the area and all those killed were civilians.
NATO, however, claims that 30 militants died in the attack.
Similar attacks have claimed the lives of hundreds of Afghan civilians over the past year.
More than 2,400 civilians lost their lives in 2010 -- making it the deadliest year since the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Violence has increased in Afghanistan despite the presence of nearly 150,000 U-S-led troops in the country.
Civilians have been the main victims of violence in Afghanistan, particularly in the country's troubled southern and eastern provinces, where they are killed by both militant and foreign fire.
Hundreds of civilians have lost their lives in the US-led airstrikes and ground operations in various parts of Afghanistan over the past few months, with Afghans becoming more outraged over the seemingly endless number of deadly assaults.
Civilian casualties have long been a source of friction between the Afghan government and US-led foreign forces. The loss of civilian lives at the hand of foreign forces has dramatically increased anti-American sentiments in Afghanistan.
The surge in violence comes despite the presence of 150,000 foreign troops, which are engaged in the so-called war on terrorism. The war in Afghanistan, with civilian and military casualties at record highs, has become the longest war in US history.
The Afghan interior ministry says more than 2,000 civilians lost their lives in violence across Afghanistan in 2010.
Source: Press TV
