At least 23 Afghan civilians, most of them women and children, were killed in a U.S. airstrike in the southern province of Helmand this week, the latest in a growing toll of casualties from air operations, the United Nations mission in the country said Friday.
The U.S. military says it is investigating the incident on Tuesday in which a helicopter hit a compound during a joint operation with U.S. and Afghan forces in Garmsir district in Helmand.
Local residents said at least 30 people were killed in the strike, which came amid a surge in air operations as the U.S. military takes a more aggressive approach to force the Taliban toward peace negotiations.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) noted a sharp increase in civilian casualties from air strikes and said it was particularly concerned that children have been hit.
An Afghan boy receives treatment at a hospital after an airstrike in Helmand province, Afghanistan, November 28, 2018. /VCG Photo
"Initial findings indicate that the vast majority of the victims were women and children," UNAMA said in a statement on the latest incident in Helmand.
"The Mission is actively working to verify information indicating up to 10 children were killed along with eight women, and three children were injured, including an eight-year-old boy."
According to UN figures, there were 649 civilian casualties from air strikes in the first nine months of the year, more than the number of casualties from aerial operations recorded over every entire year since UNAMA began documentation in 2009.
(Cover: An injured boy receives treatment at a hospital after an airstrike in Helmand province, Afghanistan, November 28, 2018. /AP Photo)