Local officials in Afghanistan’s Ghazni Province are reporting that at least four civilians have been killed in a NATO airstrike against the Andar District overnight, including two small children.
The initial statement on the strike from District Chief Mohammed Desiwal claimed that only ten people were killed, all Taliban. Later reports confirmed that the attack also hit a civilian house. They raised the toll to 14, with the additional victims the civilian bystanders in the house. Police say a number of other civilians were wounded.
Taliban statements also confirmed a number of civilian deaths, claiming seven in their accounts while likewise denying that they had lost 10 fighters in the incident. NATO has refused to comment at all on the situation.
Indeed, NATO operational updates for Thursday night and Friday completely ignored Ghazni Province, not mentioning any battles at all even though it appears to be well documented that a strike did indeed take place.
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