KABUL, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- An investigation team deployed
by Afghan government said on Friday that 37 civilians have been killed along
with around 26 Taliban militants in U.S. airstrike in Kandahar province of
southern Afghanistan.
"After investigating in Wacha Bakhta village of
Shawali Kot district, we found that 37 civilians were killed in the airstrike
which U.S. troops used to fight Taliban militants and at least 31 civilians were
wounded on the spot," said Zalmai Ayubi, spokesman of the provincial government.
"The air assaults also left 26 Taliban militants
dead," Ayubi added.
However, a statement issued by Afghan Presidential
Palace on Wednesday said that 40 civilians were killed and 28 others were
injured in a Coalition air strike in Shah Wali kot.
Meanwhile, the U.S.-led Coalition forces in a
statement released on Thursday indicated that Taliban militants prevented
civilians from escaping the battle field.
"Civilians, reportedly attempted to leave the area,
but the insurgents forced them to remain as they continued to fire on the ANSF
and Coalition forces along the highway," it noted.
The U.S. Forces also said they would launch a joint
investigation with the Afghan government to look into the civilian casualties in
Shah Wali Kott district.
Hundreds of Afghan civilians have been killed in the
U.S.-led war on terror in Afghanistan over the past nearly seven years and the
most bloody one was killing 91 non-combatants including women and children in
Shindand district of western Herat province in airstrikes last August.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday, at a
press conference immediately after the announcement of the result of U.S.
Presidential polls, called for change in the strategy on Afghan war saying "war
against terrorism in Afghanistan's villages would not deliver as Afghanistan
itself is a victim of terrorism."
Spiraling conflicts and Taliban-linked insurgency
have claimed around 5,000 people with over 1,500 civilians so far this year in
Afghanistan.
