KABUL, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Twelve Afghan civilians, including 10 children, were killed following an airstrike in eastern province of Wardak over the weekend, a UN mission there said on Wednesday.
Citing its preliminary finding, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement that all the victims were women and children from the same family, whose house was destroyed by aerial ordnance late Sunday.
The strike occurred when security forces were conducting an operation against Taliban in the area.
"Ten of those killed were children whose ages ranged from 6 to 15. Eight were girls," the statement said.
It was not immediately clear whether the strike was carried out by NATO-led coalition forces or by the Afghan Air Force.
"UNAMA notes its strong concern with the rising numbers of civilian deaths and injuries caused by aerial operations and urges all parties to take additional measures to prevent harm to the civilian population," the statement read.
More than 1,690 civilians were killed and over 3,430 others injured in conflict-related incidents in the first half of the year in the war-torn country, according to UNAMA's figures.
Out of the casualties, 149 civilians were killed and 204 others wounded as a result of airstrikes.?
