Eight civilians killed in Afghan forces strike on Taliban rally

Eight civilians were killed in an Afghan airstrike that hit a group attending a ceremony to celebrate the release from prison of a Taliban commander in western Afghanistan's Herat province, said Thursday July 23 a local official. According to Ali Ahmad Faqir Yar, governor of the district where the airstrike took place, the group had gathered to welcome the Taliban commander.

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" An airstrike was carried out during the ceremony and civilians who participated in it were among those killed, " he told AFP, reporting a toll of eight civilians killed and 16 wounded. Zalmay Khalilzad, US special envoy to Afghanistan, said on Twitter that according to accounts from photographers and witnesses, scores of civilians, including children, have been killed. " We call on all parties to contain violence, protect civilians and exercise the necessary restraint as the start of inter-Afghan negotiations is so near, " he added.

The Afghan Ministry of Defense disputed the tolls and claimed that no civilians had been killed. Afghan forces carried out the strike " based on photos and videos from intelligence services ," he said. The ministry said an investigation was underway but " initial information shows that no civilians were killed ."

Crucial step in peace negotiations

It was not known whether the Taliban commander survived the attack and whether and how many Taliban were killed or injured. On their website, the Taliban said the commander was released from Bagram prison near Kabul on Tuesday as part of a prisoner exchange seen as a crucial step in the peace negotiations. The prisoner exchange, provided for in a landmark agreement reached in February between the United States and the Taliban, provides for the release by the Afghan government of 5,000 insurgents and that by the Taliban of 1,000 members of the Afghan security forces.

The agreement signed in February in Doha was to pave the way for a total withdrawal of American troops after 18 years of war, as well as for unprecedented inter-Afghan peace negotiations.

Kabul has expressed its reluctance, saying that among the Taliban prisoners to be released are dangerous fighters who will return to combat. Meanwhile, at least 31 Taliban fighters were killed in Nangarhar province on Wednesday in clashes with Afghan forces, the defense ministry said.

In a series of tweets, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan warned of " a spiral of violence " in the country and mission chief Deborah Lyons called for a ceasefire in the country. eve of the feast of Aid.