Thirty-seven civilians were killed and 27 others wounded during a joint operation by American and Afghan forces in northern Kunduz province, the US military confirmed on Thursday.
The joint operation was conducted in Boz village on November 2-3 when the Afghan and US forces returned fire in self-defense at Taliban using civilian houses.
"Regardless of the circumstances, I deeply regret the loss of innocent lives," said Gen. John Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, at the end of investigations into claims of civilian casualties.
“On this occasion, the Taliban chose to hide amongst civilians and then attacked Afghan and US forces. I wish to assure President Ghani and the people of Afghanistan that we will take all possible measures to protect civilians," Nicholson said.
A statement from the US military said the operation was conducted to capture Taliban leaders responsible for October’s violence in Kunduz. Upon arrival in the village, the troops were soon engaged by the Taliban from multiple civilian buildings.
Aerial fire was also used to suppress the Taliban firing on US medical evacuation assets as the dead and wounded were transferred from the scene, the statement added.
The investigation concluded that US air assets used the minimum amount of force required to neutralise the threats from the civilian buildings. No civilians were seen or identified in the course of the battle.
The civilians wounded or killed were likely inside the buildings from which the Taliban were firing. In A Taliban ammunition cache was struck and exploded, which also destroyed multiple buildings and may also have killed civilians.
According to investigators, two US soldiers and three Afghan Army commandos were killed. In addition, four US troops and 11 commandos were wounded. The investigation concluded approximately 26 Taliban, including three leaders, were also killed.
