Afghan special forces have killed nine civilians in an apparently botched operation in the eastern province of Nangarhar, officials said Tuesday.

The victims were related to Afghan Senate chairman Fazel Hadi Muslimyaar, provincial spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP.

"A delegation from Kabul has been sent to Nangarhar to investigate the incident," he added.

The provincial health director confirmed the dead and wounded were brought to local hospitals in Jalalabad.

Details of the attack late Monday in Chaparhar district remained unclear and there was no immediate comment from the defence ministry. The Senate is parliament's upper house.

Civilian casualties remain high in Afghanistan's grinding conflict with more than 10,000 killed or wounded in 2017, according to the UN.

The majority of casualties were caused by the Taliban and other militants.

But pro-government forces, including international troops, were responsible for 20 percent of the civilian casualties last year -- a seven percent increase from 2016.

The increase was partly due to a growing number of aerial bombings by Afghan and foreign forces, the UN said.

The US is the only international force known to be carrying out air strikes in Afghanistan.

Earlier this month President Ashraf Ghani apologised after the UN released a blistering report into an Afghan Air Force strike in Kunduz on April 2 which killed 36 people including 30 children.

The UN investigators could not confirm if the casualties in that incident were all civilians.

Related Links
News From Across The Stans

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Pakistan military says ex-spy chief will not be allowed to leave country
Islamabad (AFP) May 28, 2018
Pakistan's military Monday took the unprecedented step of preventing a former spy chief from leaving the country, after he ignited a storm by co-authoring a book that touches on Pakistan's alleged roles in Afghanistan and Kashmir. Retired Lieutenant General Asad Durrani, who headed Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) from 1990 to 1992, was placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) stopping him from leaving the country, according to the military spokesman. Durrani has been mired in controversy since l ... read more