US Airstrikes Kill 13 Civilians, Including Children, in Afghanistan

On Saturday, US airstrikes against the village of Naser Khil in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province destroyed two houses. The houses belonged to the village’s only doctor, and his brother, and killed both of them along with their families.

That was 13 civilians in all: two men, their wives, and nine children. The provincial government had claimed a Taliban commander was also slain, but there appears to be no confirmation that this is actually the case.

NATO confirmed that the airstrikes took place, but did not comment on the civilian deaths that were already confirmed, saying only that they were looking into the matter, and emphasizing the attacks were “self-defense.”

How blowing up a doctor’s house counts as self defense isn’t entirely clear, though a NATO spokesman claimed that the attack meant to target a Taliban operations center. Clearly, it did not.