KABUL - The US military said Thursday it was investigating Afghan allegations that its troops killed four civilians in an overnight raid, including a woman school teacher and two of her children. The military had issued a statement saying that four militants, including a woman combatant, were killed in an operation in Khost province targeting an extremist Islamic militant. Three more people were arrested, it said.But the Afghan education ministry later identified the dead as a high-school teacher, her young daughter, a teenage son and a ”relative”. The ministry said in a statement it was “deeply moved” by the incident.
Khost government spokesman Kochai Naseri said five “innocent” civilians had been killed, including two men, two females and a teenage student. He accused international troops of not consulting Afghan officials in conducting the operation, contravening regulations.
The US military said it was investigating the incident, which occurred three kilometres (two miles) south of Khost city. “Coalition forces are aware of the allegation of non-combatant casualties in Khost district, Khost province, and are conducting a joint investigation,” it said in a statement.
The force said earlier that the raid targeted a militant linked to the radical Haqqani network and the Islamic Jihad Union, both associated with Al-Qaeda.