US military: November fight with Taliban killed 33 civilians
KABUL — The U.S. military in Afghanistan said on Thursday that its investigation into a November firefight with the Taliban in northern Kunduz province has shown that 33 civilians died in the raid during which U.S. troops fired on Afghan homes.
The probe followed claims that civilian deaths resulted from airstrikes called in to support Afghan and U.S. forces who came under fire in the province’s village of Buz-e Kandahari, which targeted two senior Taliban commanders.
The two Taliban figures, responsible for violence in Kunduz the previous month, were killed in the operation.
According to a U.S. military statement, the investigation “determined, regretfully, that 33 civilians were killed and 27 wounded” as troops responded to fire from “Taliban who were using civilian houses as firing positions.”