US drone strike kills eight in east Afghanistan
Asia-Pacific, News January 11, 2015 Comments Off on US drone strike kills eight in east AfghanistanAt least eight people have been killed and three others wounded in the latest assassination drone strike carried out by the US forces in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nangarhar.
Afghan border police spokesman, Edris Mohmand, identified the victims as Taliban militants, adding that the aerial assault took place in the Lal Pur district of the province on Sunday morning.
The Taliban have made no comments on the incident yet.
The US-led foreign forces in Afghanistan have recently increased their air raids against civilian areas.
The United States carries out targeted killings through drone strikes in Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Somalia.
While Washington claims the targets of the drone attacks are al-Qaeda militants, local officials and witnesses maintain that, in most cases, civilians have been the victims of the attacks over the past few years.
The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues across the war-torn country, despite the presence of thousands of US-led troops.
The US-led combat mission in Afghanistan ended on December 31, 2014. However, at least 13,500 foreign forces, mainly from the United States, will remain in Afghanistan in what is said to be a support mission.
US-led NATO says the forces will focus more narrowly on counterterrorism and on training Afghan soldiers and policemen.
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