The US military in Afghanistan is working to determine whether reports on their mistargeted drone attack killing dozens of civilians in Nangarhar province are not "a ploy to deflect attention" from another deadly Taliban-led attack against civilians, USFOR-A Spokesman Colonel Sonny Leggett said on Thusrday
KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th September, 2019) The US military in Afghanistan is working to determine whether reports on their mistargeted drone attack killing dozens of civilians in Nangarhar province are not "a ploy to deflect attention" from another deadly Taliban-led attack against civilians, USFOR-A Spokesman Colonel Sonny Leggett said on Thusrday.Earlier in the day, media reported, citing local officials, that a drone attack by Afghan government forces with support of US-led military has left at least 50 civilians killed and dozens more injured in the province of Nangarhar in eastern Afghanistan. According to Nangarhar governor's spokesman, Attaullah Khogyani, the attack was targeted at the Islamic State terrorist organization (IS, banned in Russia) and left nine terrorists killed and four others injured.
"U.S forces conducted a precision strike against Da'esh [IS] terrorists in Nangarhar early this morning. We are fighting in a complex environment against those who intentionally kill and hide behind civilians, as well as use dishonest claims of non-combatant casualties as propaganda weapons. We are aware of allegations of the death of non-combatants and are working with local officials to determine the facts to ensure this is not a ploy to deflect attention from the civilians murdered by the Taliban at a hospital in Zabul earlier today," USFOR-A Spokesman Colonel Sonny Leggett said.
The attack Leggett referred to took place in Qalat, the capital of southern Zabul province, destroying a hospital. Responsibility the for suicide bombing attack there was claimed by the Taliban radical movement.
The mistargeted attack in Nangarhar, meanwhile, reportedly took place at around 1:00 a.m. local time (08:30 GMT), when people were working in a peanut field.
According to Ajmal Omar, a member of the Nangarhar Provincial Council and a resident of Khoghyani, the attack was specifically targeted at civilian laborers of a local agribusiness company and killed at least 30 people, leaving 40 others injured. A representative of the company told Sputnik that the bodies of 21 people were found and 9 others currently count as injured.
For almost two decades, Afghanistan has suffered instability due to the continuous insurgency of the Taliban movement and IS. Government forces conduct regular counterterrorism operations across the country. Khogyani is considered to be one of the most unsafe districts of Nangarhar province, where, in addition to the Taliban, IS terrorists have established presence over the past two years.
