At least five civilians were killed in an airstrike by Afghan forces in the central province of Logar on Monday evening, a number of Logar residents claimed.
The residents, who talked to TOLOnews on Tuesday, also claimed that the airstrike left 11 civilians wounded. They said that children were also among the victims.
An Army Commander in Logar, Colonel Abdul Matin Hassankhail, said the airstrike targeted a Taliban gathering in Kamalkhail village on the outskirts of Pul-e-Alam, the center of Logar, which killed 25 Taliban members including their key commanders and wounded 11 others.
Colonel Hassankhail did not reject civilian casualties in the airstrike and said there might be some civilians at the Taliban gathering.
The Ministry of Interior Affairs said in a statement that the airstrike in Kamalkhail village in Logar killed 22 Taliban fighters, including their key commander Nematulah.
Taliban has claimed that the airstrike has left 24 civilians dead and 10 others wounded.
This comes after a sharp rise in civilian casualties in the Afghan conflict.
A fresh figure by Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) indicates that 596 civilians were killed and 1,892 others were wounded in clashes between government forces and the Taliban and other attacks by militants in Afghanistan since the beginning of the current solar year which coincides with March 21, 2019.
The CEO of the AIHRC, Musa Mahmoodi, told TOLOnews on Monday that 733 of the victims are children who have either been killed or wounded in the conflicts during the period.
