A U.S. airstrike has reportedly left 70 people dead in southeastern Afghanistan as the war-ravaged country votes to elect a new parliament.
Afghans stand around the body one of two people who were killed in a night raid, in Jalalabad August 18, 2010. Afghan and U.S.-led forces killed two insurgents and detained several more in eastern Nangarhar province on Tuesday, ISAF said. Protesters blocked a main highway out of Jalalabad, saying the dead men, a father and son, were civilians. (Photo: REUTER/Parwiz)
According to Afghan officials, the incident took place in province of Paktia on Saturday when a Taliban convoy came under attack.
Provincial officials say the victims were all militants, however, locals and eyewitnesses say the attack claimed civilian casualties.
This is while Taliban militants have launched sporadic attacks to disrupt the parliamentary election, killing more than a dozen people.
Taliban militants and U.S. officials have not commented on the attack so far.
The loss of civilian lives at the hand of foreign forces has dramatically increased anti-American sentiments in Afghanistan, causing thousands of Afghans to protest against US-led military presence in the country.
Since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, a considerable number of civilians have lost their lives in U.S.-led air and ground operations.