Tuesday, July 26, 2011 – Local authorities in eastern Afghanistan said, at least three Afghan civilians were killed and another was wounded in a Nato air strike in eastern Kunar province on Monday.
The incident was confirmed by Fazlullah Wahidi, governor of Kunar province and said the incident took place at 04:00 pm local time in Hamcha area of Wata Poor district of the province.
NATO officials yet to make comments regarding the incident.
In the meantime, five Afghan children were injured following an air strike by a British attack helicopter.
According to officials, some of the injured children are in critical condition.
The incident took place in Helmand province, the children were working in a field in Helmand province when they were hit by stray bullets from an Apache gunship which was targeting the Taliban.
The children were accidentally targeted by a burst of fire from the chopper’s devastating 30 millimetre cannon as the aircrew went after insurgents entering a mud-walled compound.
Soon after the incident, the wounded children were immediately taken to Camp Bastion, the main British base in the province, for urgent treatment.
In the meantime, British officials are investigating the incident which is likely to focus on the accuracy of the Apache’s cannon and the speed with which they fire.
