Afghan civilian casualties from airstrikes up more than 50% since last year - UN

12 Oct, 2017 12:51 / Updated 7 years ago

Civilian casualties from Afghan and American airstrikes have risen more than 50 percent since last year, the UN said on Thursday. Troops have increased attacks on militants under a new strategy announced by US President Donald Trump in August. As of the end of September, at least 205 civilians had been killed and 261 wounded this year in airstrikes in Afghanistan, Reuters reported, citing a quarterly report by UN investigators. At least 38 percent of those casualties were caused by international military forces, while the majority were attributed to the Afghan Air Force, which has begun to conduct more attacks on its own.