US, Afghan Troops Kill Five Civilians in Raid Outside Kabul

A joint offensive by US and Afghan forces was carried out in Surobi District, outside the Afghan capital of Kabul overnight. The raid, and ensuing US airstrikes, killed at least five civilians, four women and a child.

The operation was intended to target “Taliban fighters.” The Afghan National Security Directorate said the civilians were killed in what they described as a “counterattack” against the Taliban.

So far there is no confirmation of casualties among any of the combatants, though US coalition officials said it was “likely” that they’d killed the Taliban’s shadow governor for the district. They offered no evidence to support that assumption.

This is the latest of several strikes around Afghanistan which have caused a number of civilian casualties. US coalition spokeswoman Debra Richardson dismissed the killing of non-combatants, saying that the best way to end the suffering of non-combatants would be to win the war militarily.