UN says US strikes cause civilian casualties in Afghanistan

KABUL – A special U.N. report has criticized American airstrikes earlier this year against alleged drug facilities in Afghanistan, saying the attacks were unlawful and caused significant civilian casualties.

The report was released on Wednesday in both Kabul and Geneva.

It says the U.N. verified 39 civilian casualties, among them 14 children and a woman, from multiple airstrikes on more than 60 sites the U.S. and Afghan forces identified as drug-production facilities in Bakwa district in western Farah province and in neighbouring Delaram district in Nimroz province.

The U.S. military disputes the U.N. findings, criticizing the report’s verification methods and denying there were civilians among the dead.

But the U.N. says it visited the site with Afghanistan’s Human Rights Commission. It says it is also looking at another possible 37 civilian casualties.