U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in Afghanistan
Source: Reuters
JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A U.S. drone strike intended to hit an Islamic State (IS) hideout in Afghanistan killed at least 30 civilians resting after a day’s labor in the fields, officials said on Thursday.
The attack on Wednesday night also injured 40 people after accidentally targeting farmers and laborers who had just finished collecting pine nuts at mountainous Wazir Tangi in eastern Nangarhar province, three Afghan officials told Reuters.
“The workers had lit a bonfire and were sitting together when a drone targeted them,” tribal elder Malik Rahat Gul told Reuters by telephone from Wazir Tangi.
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In a separate incident, at least 20 people died in a suicide truck bomb attack on Thursday carried out by the Taliban in the southern province of Zabul.
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JALALABAD, Afghanistan/KABUL (Reuters) - Twelve days ahead of the pine-nut harvest season, the governor of Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province received a letter from village elders in the Wazir Tangi area about their plans to recruit 200 laborers and children to pluck the dry fruit.
The letter, seen by Reuters and dated Sept. 7, was sent in an effort to help protect laborers from getting caught in clashes between U.S.-backed Afghan forces and Islamic State fighters in the mountainous terrain largely controlled by the jihadists.
Taliban insurgents and Islamic State fighters have been battling each other for control of the province’s natural resources. U.S. and Afghan forces routinely launch air strikes to regain control over territory lost to militant groups.
On Wednesday, just hours after farmers, laborers and children finished their day’s work of plucking pine nuts in the heavily forested area and lit bonfires near their tents, a U.S. drone hit the site, killing 30 civilians and injuring 40 others, according to three Afghan provincial officials.
Local residents expressed shock and anger that the attack occurred despite the letter and subsequent assurances of safety for the workers.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-attack-drones-letter/letter-detailing-civilian-presence-failed-to-prevent-deadly-afghan-drone-strike-idUSKBN1W431P
