Afghan President Hamid Karzai has strongly condemned a recent US air strike in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Khost, which has killed three civilians.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Karzai called the airborne attack a “clear violation” of agreements that Washington had reached with his government.
He also ordered Khost provincial governor Abdul Jabbar Naeemi and other local security officials to launch an investigation into the deadly incident.
Mobarez Zadran, the spokesman for the Khost provincial governor, said three members of a family were killed and one injured on Tuesday, when an American helicopter fired a missile into their house.
He stated that the military aircraft was reportedly chasing Taliban militants in Nader Shah Kot district of the province but the missile it fired landed on a house, killing a woman and her two children.
Zadran went on to say that the children killed were a boy and girl, between 8 and 10 years old, while the injured victim was their father.
The US-led so-called International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has announced that it is looking into the incident.
Civilian casualties have long been a source of friction between the Afghan government and US-led forces, and have dramatically increased anti-US sentiments in the war-torn country.
Afghan government officials have repeatedly expressed outrage over the US drone attacks that mainly target civilians.
The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror.
The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across the country, despite the presence of thousands of US-led troops.
MP/PR/HRB
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