Kabul, Jan. 7, (dpa/GNA) – Five civilians, including a child, were killed in an airstrike in Afghanistan’s southern province of Helmand, local officials said on Thursday.
At least another four people were wounded in the attack that was carried out overnight in the Bushran area on the outskirts of Lashkargah city, provincial councilors Ataullah Afghan and Abdul Majeed Akhundzada told dpa.
The casualties included three women, a child, and a young man, according to the officials.
The airstrike hit a civilian house in the Taliban-controlled area, the officials added.
It was not immediately clear whether the attack was carried out by Afghan forces or the US military.
Heavy fighting has raged in Helmand for months between the insurgent Taliban and Afghanistan’s armed forces.
The Taliban launched a major offensive in the embattled province in October, displacing tens of thousands of people.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday negotiators from the Taliban and Afghan government resumed their peace talks in Doha after a weeks-long break.
Little progress has been made since they began in September, with discussions still centred around the order of the agenda, while the violence continues unabated in Afghanistan.
GNA