ISLAMABAD

Officials in Afghanistan say overnight counterterrorism airstrikes by international forces in eastern Nangarhar province have killed at least 16 civilians, including women and children.

Saaz Wali, the top administrator of the Haska Mina district where the casualties occurred, told VOA Friday the airstrikes struck a vehicle and a group of civilians in two separate areas.

Eight of the victims were in the vehicle and belonged to the same family, he added.

Were looking into the allegations and will provide an update when appropriate, a spokesman for NATOs Resolute Support mission told VOA.

Local security officials confirmed Afghan forces, backed by foreign airpower, are conducting counterterrorism operations against Islamic State militants in the district. Several districts of Nangarhar have IS militants, according to U.S. and Afghan officials.

Taliban insurgents also are active in many districts of the province. A spokesman for the Islamist insurgency, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed that shortly after missiles hit the vehicle, local residents rushed and gathered near the site when a second airstrike targeted and killed them.

The armed conflict in Afghanistan has killed more than 1,700 civilians and wounded many more since the beginning of 2017, according to United Nations documentation of civilian casualties.

Meanwhile, the U.N Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it has completed its probe into the killings of dozens of civilians in the northern province of Sar-e-Pul and promised to issue its findings soon.

The massacre of about 50 men, women and children earlier this week took place in the Sayad district. Local officials said Taliban insurgents and Islamic State loyalists jointly carried out the bloodshed. But the Taliban has denied its involvement, saying official claims are a baseless propaganda against the group.

We are deeply concerned by the harrowing reports of civilians being killed and atrocities being committed, said UNAMA chief Tadamichi Yamamoto.

UNAMA, however, has urged all parties to refrain from exploiting harrowing events for political purposes and before basic facts are established.

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NATO Probing Reports Airstrikes Caused Civilian Casualties - Voice of America