US-led operations kill 13 in eastern Afghanistan

At least thirteen people were killed in two separate operations by the US-led forces in Eastern Afghanistan. An Afghan woman was shot dead on Wednesday in a US-led military operation in the Gillan district in the country’s Ghazni province, local officials said, press tv reported. A probe has been launched into the US forces’ civilian killing. Meanwhile, reports said at least 12 people were killed in a US airstrike on a village in Logar province last night. The airstrike came after a similar attack by US-led forces killed ten people in the Khogiani district of Ghazni province on Monday. On Sunday night, 12 people were also killed in an airstrike on Zarmat city in Paktia province. At least two people were killed and one more injured on July 6, when US forces launched an airborne assault on the city of Gardez, situated some 100 kilometers (62 miles) South of Kabul. Reports say many people in Kunar Province of Eastern Afghanistan have left their villages and sought refuge in other provinces due to the rise in the number of airstrikes by US-led forces. The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across the country, despite the presence of thousands of US-led troops.