US-led airstrike kills five in northeast Afghanistan

Afghan police say at least five people have been killed and several others injured in an air raid by US-led forces in the troubled northeastern Afghanistan.

Afghan local security officials said the attack took place in Nari district of the province of Kunar on Thursday night.

Local officials have put the number of fatalities at five, saying those killed in the operation were Taliban militants.

Taliban militant group has not commented on the incident so far.

Washington claims that its airstrikes target militants, but local sources say civilians have been the main victims of the attacks.

The Afghan government has on numerous occasions warned Washington to stop attacks on innocent civilians.

Civilian casualties caused by foreign forces have been a major source of tension between Kabul and Washington.

The casualties inflicted by US-led troops have also sparked massive anti-US protests.

In another development, a roadside bomb detonated in the province of Kandahar, killing three civilians there.

Local police officials said the bomb targeted a vehicle in the western Maiwand district, wounding one person.

Afghan authorities blamed the attack on the Taliban. The blast is the latest in the militant group’s violent campaign against the upcoming presidential vote.

Taliban have called on their militants to target all workers, activists, and security forces involved in the April 5th vote.

Ten candidates are running in the presidential race, in which a successor to President Hamid Karzai will be chosen.

Violence continues to plague Afghanistan despite the presence of thousands of foreign forces, more than 12 years after the US-led invasion of the country in 2001.