UN probing reports on 'mass civilian casualties' in Afghan airstrike

The United Nations on Tuesday said that it is probing reports on civilian casualties sustained during Monday's airstrike in a local madrassa in Afghanistan's Kunduz province.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) took to its Twitter handle and informed that it is "actively looking into disturbing reports of serious harm to civilians yesterday from airstrike at DashtiArchi, Kunduz. Human Rights team on ground establishing facts."

According to TOLOnews, this comes after residents of Dasht-e-Archi district in Kunduz province claimed that an airstrike on Monday claimed 50 lives and injured 150 others. The airstrike was carried out at about 11 a.m. (local time)

According to the residents and some provincial council members, the airstrike was carried out on the madrassa by the Afghan Air Force (AAF). Government officials have claimed that Taliban militants were inside the madrassa and planning out to carry an attack on Afghan forces.

They also asserted that a high-ranking Taliban official, named Mullah Beryani, was believed to be present in the madrassa at the time of the airstrike.

However, the residents claimed that the gathering was not a "Taliban meeting" and as per them, about 300 people were inside the madrassa before the airstrike happened.

Extra security forces were deployed to Dasht-e-Archi district in the province to flush out Taliban militants from the region two years ago. Since then, clashes between them are ongoing.