15 civilians killed in Nangarhar drone strike

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): A drone strike by foreign troops has killed 15 civilians and wounded another four in the Khogyani district of eastern Nangarhar province, officials and public representatives said on Thursday.

The overnight air raid in Wazir Tangi area killed and wounded over 40 people, two public representatives claimed.

Provincial council members Sohrab Qaderi and Ajmal Omar confirmed the attack, apparently targeting an Islamic State hideout, hit pine nut collectors in the area.

Meanwhile, the district’s administrative chief, Shams-ul-Haq Safi, told Pajhwok Afghan News nine bodies and four wounded individuals had been evacuated to hospital so far from the scene.

He said all victims were civilians collecting pine nuts in the area when they came under airstrike.

Gubernatorial spokesman Attaullah Khogyani verified the airstrike. "The incident is under investigation,” he told Pajhwok.

Nine bodies had been collected from the site near, he added. The workers were sitting together near a bonfire when the drone struck them.

Police spokesman Mubariz Atal said 15 civilians had been killed and another six wounded in the incident.

pk/mud