An Afghan airstrike on Friday, that targeted Taliban fighters inside an abandoned army base in southern Helmand, province killed at least 20 people, including some civilians, reports said. There were conflicting accounts about the site of the strike and the number of casualties, adding to concerns that as the U.S. Military and NATO forces complete their pull out from the war-battered country, Afghanistan would sink into more violence and turmoil.
The military said its air force and troops struck the Taliban in the province's Nahr Saraj district as they were looting weapons and ammunition from the base. It said 20 Taliban fighters and a “few civilians” who were looting with the insurgents were killed.
The Taliban claimed they overran the base, located along a west-south highway linking the cities of Kandahar and Herat, late Thursday.
The insurgents said the death toll on Friday stood at 30 killed, and that all the fatalities allegedly are civilians. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid accused the Afghan army of conducting airstrikes against civilians.