KABUL, Afghanistan – The International Security Assistance Force confirmed today three Afghan civilians were accidentally killed and four wounded during an operation in Kunar province yesterday.
The incident occurred after coalition forces came under insurgent fire near the village of Tantil in the Darah-ye Pech District.
Coalition forces identified the insurgent position and returned fire with mortar rounds. Three or four rounds landed short of the target area, near a village. As a result, three Afghan civilians were accidentally killed and four wounded.
“We take civilian casualties seriously and we do everything within our power to prevent civilian casualties in the course of operations – in this case, we failed,” said U.S. Army Col. Rafael Torres,
ISAF Joint Command Combined Joint Operations Center director. “Our thoughts and concerns are with the families of this tragic accident.”