WASHINGTON: A US military report, released on Thursday, concluded that 33 Afghan civilians were killed in American air strikes in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz two months ago.
US forces called in air strikes on civilian homes in Buz-e-Kandahari village on Nov 2 and 3 last year after an operation to capture Taliban leaders spiralled out of control, the report added.
The US Department of Defence ordered an investigation into the incident after initial reports confirmed civilian deaths.
The investigation determined, regretfully, that 33 civilians were killed and 27 wounded. To defend themselves and Afghan forces, US forces returned fire in self-defence at Taliban who were using civilian houses as firing positions, the report said.
The report included a statement by Gen. John Nicholson, commander of the US forces in Afghanistan, who said that regardless of the circumstances, I deeply regret the loss of innocent lives.
Gen Nicholson said the incident occurred because the Taliban chose to hide amongst civilians and then used their positions to attack Afghan and US forces.
I wish to assure President Ashraf Ghani and the people of Afghanistan that we will take all possible measures to protect Afghan civilians, he said.
The operation was conducted to capture Taliban leaders responsible for another attack on Kunduz in October. It was carried out by Afghan special operation troops with a smaller US force to provide advice and assistance.
Upon arrival at the village, Afghan forces came under fire from multiple civilian buildings. US and Afghan forces were forced to request aerial fire support from US platforms after two US soldiers and three Afghan Army commandos were killed, the report said.
Four US soldiers and 11 commandos were also wounded in the fight. Twenty-six Taliban fighters, including three leaders responsible for the October attack, were killed as well and 26 were wounded.
Aerial fires were also used to suppress Taliban who were firing on US medical evacuation assets as the dead and wounded were evacuated, the report added.
The investigation concluded that the civilians who were wounded or killed were likely inside the buildings from which the Taliban were firing.
In addition, a Taliban ammunition cache was struck and exploded which also destroyed multiple civilian buildings and may also have killed civilians.
The report ruled out any legal action against those responsible for the killings, because US forces acted in self-defence and followed all applicable law and policy.
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