Afghan forces mistakenly kill 9, mostly civilians: Officials

Kabul: Afghan forces mistakenly killed nine people, most of them civilians, during a raid on a house in eastern Nangarhar province which has been a base for the Islamic State group and other militants, officials said today.

The raid, which took place late last night in Chaparhar district, also wounded eight other civilians, said provincial governor Hayatullah Hayat. 

A local police commander was among the dead, he added.

According to the governor, gunfire had been coming from the house that was raided but the casualties were identified as mostly civilians once the operation ended. 

An investigation was underway to determine how the operation resulted in civilian casualties. Inamullah Miakhail, a spokesman for the hospital in Nangarhar, also confirmed that nine dead bodies were brought to the hospital from the raid.

Both Taliban and the Islamic States group are active in eastern Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, in the central province of Kabul, two people – a policeman and a civilian – were killed after a bomb attached to a bicycle detonated on Monday in the Qarabagh district, said Mohammad Azem, the district governor.

Azem added that four others, three policemen and a civilian, were wounded in that attack.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. The Taliban have stepped up their attacks against Afghan security forces as well as government officials since the announcement of their spring offensive in April across the country.