‘US-led raid targeted Afghan civilians’

A recent bomb attack carried out by US-led forces on a residential area in central Afghanistan has only killed civilians, locals say.

The aerial attack took place in Saydabad district’s Hasan Khel village in Afghanistan’s Wardak Province, on Sunday.

“All those people killed here were school students, teachers and also university students. They were all civilians. There were no armed men here,” said one of the witnesses.

Locals say the airstrike targeted a mosque at dawn and left nearly 20 people dead. However, a spokesman for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said no civilians were killed in the assault.

Residents also say that over thirty others have also been wounded in the attack.

A special team has been sent by Wardak’s governor to investigate the incident.

Civilian casualties inflicted by US-led troops have increased anti-US sentiments in the country.

The deaths have been the main source of friction between Kabul and Washington over the past years.

The US-led war in Afghanistan began in October 2001. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across the country, despite the presence of thousands of US-led troops.