US-led airstrike kills Afghan civilian

A fresh US-led airstrike has killed one civilian in southern Afghanistan as human rights groups criticize the US-led forces for such operations that led to civilian deaths.

According to Afghan authorities, several houses were also destroyed in the air raid in Afghanistan’s southern Ghazni province on Sunday.

Afghan officials have repeatedly asked US-led forces to end the imprecise aerial bombardments that mostly inflict civilian casualties. US-led forces, however, maintain that they are targeting militants.

The Afghan Rights Monitor recently said that civilian deaths have increased largely since operations started in Kandahar province in early September.

The group also says the US-led campaign in Kandahar has destroyed or damaged hundreds of houses.

It says US-led NATO forces have used aerial bombings, hidden booby traps and set off mines in private homes.

The report comes as US-led foreign forces in Afghanistan are currently continuing with their massive military operation in Kandahar.

Witnesses have recently told Press TV that NATO forces have dropped more bombs on villages they think Taliban militants are hiding in, inflicting extensive damage to civilian properties.

More than 100,000 Afghans have been killed since the US-led invasion of the country in 2001.

The loss of civilian lives at the hand of foreign forces has led to a dramatic increase in anti-American sentiments in Afghanistan.

US-led forces have stepped up attacks in Afghanistan under Washington’s new war strategy, which aims to reduce its military presence next year. There are more than 150,000 US-led foreign forces in Afghanistan.