KANDAHAR CITY (PAN): A deminer was killed in a NATO airstrike in the Panjwai district of southern Kandahar province on Monday, local officials said.
The incident took place in the Zangabad area before noon, the governor’s spokesman, Javed Faisal, told Pajhwok Afghan News.
Mine-clearing workers had erected tents in the area; only one of them was hit from the air and killed, said Faisal, who called the incident a mistake. An investigation team has been sent to the area.
But Panjwai district chief Haji Fazl Mohammad Ishaqzai alleged the slain individual who belonged to the Mine Clearance Planning Agency (MCPA) had deliberately been targeted.
He said foreign troops had told him the slain person was involved in making bombs for insurgents and had managed to find a job with the NGO. He further quoted foreign forces as saying the man had long been chased by them.