US-Led Drone Strike Leaves 6 Dead In Eastern Afghanistan

Nangarhar, 21 Rajab 1437/29 April 2016 (MINA) – At least six people have been killed in a drone strike carried out by US-led foreign forces in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nangarhar, Press TV reports.

The aerial attack was conducted in the Dih Bala district of the province, which is located 120 kilometers (74 miles) east of the Afghan capital, Kabul, late on Thursday.

Some reports identified the deceased as 17 members of the ISIS militant group.

Neither local authorities nor ISIS, however, have made comments on the fatal airstrike so far.

On April 14, at least 40 people lost their lives in US drone strikes in the Achin district of Nangarhar Province.

Local Afghan officials said that those killed in the aerial attack were ISIS militants, who have gained a foothold in Nangarhar in recent months.

Afghanistan, parts of which have long been considered a bastion of Taliban, has recently been seeing the emergence and expansion of  ISIS. Nangarhar, in particular, is one area where ISIS has visibly gained a foothold.

The CIA spy agency regularly uses drones for airstrikes and spying missions in Afghanistan as well as Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt near the Afghan border.

Washington has also been conducting targeted killings through remotely-controlled armed drones in Somalia and Yemen.

The US says the airstrikes target members of al-Qaeda and other militants, but according to local officials and witnesses, civilians have in most cases been the victims of the attacks.

The United Nations says the US drone attacks are “targeted killings” that flout international law. (T/P002/R04)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)