NATO rejects UN report, condemns Khost blast

KABUL has denied a United Nations report that a coalition airstrike killed three children in eastern Kunar province this month.

The United Nations Children’s Fund in a statement this week said an aerial attack by international forces killed three children in Kunar, condemning a steep rise in child casualties.

But the US-led coalition said Friday that the report was “simply not true.” The coalition had no aircraft operating in Kunar at the time of the June 6 incident. In a statement, the alliance said discussions with Kunar governor indicated that reports of a drone strike had been a misunderstanding.

However, UNICEF insisted that it verified all its figures and stood by the Kunar report.

Meanwhile, NATO and US top commander in Afghanistan attack that killed a family and others in the Zazi Maidan district of southeaster Khost province on Friday.

The family was travelling attend the funeral for a relative who had been kidnapped and beheaded by the Taliban. The family was moving to the site of the funeral when an improvised explosive device was detonated at the entrance to the cemetery.

“This is utterly despicable. The Taliban killed an entire family on a Friday while they were simply trying to pay their final respects to a relative who had been brutally murdered,” the International Security Assistance Force commander said.

“This is just the latest incident in a long string of Taliban brutality and disrespect against innocent Afghan civilians.” The Taliban returned the beheaded body to the family Thursday.

Pr/ma

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