Taliban Claims US Drone Strike in Kabul Led to Civilian Casualties: Report
On the reports of civilian casualties in the air strike, the CENTCOM said that it is investigating the matter.
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Video Editor: Vivek Gupta
On Monday, 30 August, Taliban Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told China's CGTN that the United States drone strike that took place on Sunday, 29 August, in Afghanistan's Kabul, resulted in the killing of seven people, Reuters reported.
On Sunday, a drone attack carried out by the US blew up a vehicle comprising "multiple suicide bombers" from Afghanistan's Islamic State affiliate, before they could launch an attack on Kabul airport that is undergoing a military evacuation, Al Jazeera reported quoting American officials.
The US drone strike came after an incident of suicide bombing that left over a 100 US, UK and Afghan nationals and 13 US service personnel dead.
Meanwhile, a huge rocket explosion was reported near Kabul's international airport on Sunday evening, that led to the death of a child, as per an Afghan police official.
"The Taliban described the two attacks as separate incidents but residents of the Afghan capital heard only one large blast," the Al Jazeera report added.
Drone Strike Resulted in Civilian Casualties: Taliban Spokesman
Mujahid further called the action taken by the US on a foreign country as unlawful and condemned US for not informing the Taliban before taking the action.
As per the Reuters report, the Taliban spokesman, in a written response to CGTN, mentioned, "If there was any potential threat in Afghanistan, it should have been reported to us, not an arbitrary attack that has resulted in civilian casualties."
Meanwhile, Afghanistan-based media outlet TOLO News quoting local residents reported that at least 10 people, including children, were allegedly killed in the air strike that took place on Sunday,
US Investigating Civilian Casualties
Further, responding to the reports of civilian casualties in Sunday's air strike, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) had said that it is investigating the results of the strike.
In a statement, Captain Bill Urban, a CENTCOM spokesman, said:
Child Killed in Rocket Strike: Afghan Police
A rocket attack in the northwest neighbourhood of Kabul airport had killed a child earlier, Al jazeera had reported quoting an Afghan police chief.
Videos shared on social media showed smoke rising from the explosion site as people were seen trying to douse the flames.
Rashid, a Kabul police chief, had told AP that the rocket struck Khwaja Bughra neighbourhood on Sunday afternoon.
Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, reporting from Kabul, had said people in the neighbourhood also reported that a rocket hit a house.
“It comes at a time of increasing tension here, the closer we get to this evacuation deadline,” he said.
Stratford had said a lot of unanswered questions remained regarding the blasts reported on Sunday.
“What does seem clear though is that the Taliban is struggling with what many analysts say could be an increasing threat from ISIL in this country. It seems to be heavily reliant on the Americans – American air power at least – to keep that threat at bay,” he had said.
“And of course that has huge implications for when the last of the NATO forces, the Americans, leave in what we believe will be in the next 48 hours,” he had added.
(With inputs from Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Reuters, AP and AFP)
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