A NATO air strike targeted a pair of pickup trucks full of civilians yesterday in Kunar Province, killing at least 10 and by some accounts 12 people, including four women and four young children.
The strike took place in Wattapur District and the civilian toll was confirmed by both the provincial police chief and Governor Shujaul Jalala, who said the toll was 12.
NATO’s official statement on the killings praised the “precision strike” and dubbed all of the slain, including the women and children, “enemy forces.” They said they were “aware” of the claims that the slain were civilians but had no reason to think that was the case.
Kunar Province, along the Pakistan border, has seen more than its share of civilian deaths in air strikes and night raids by occupation forces, and this has fueled significant anti-US and anti-NATO sentiment.
