1 US drone and 60 dead civilians. A killing in Afghanistan.
“Men carry a coffin of one of the victims after a drone strike in the Khogyani district of the Nangarhar province, Afghanistan September 19, 2019. Cr: REUTERS/Parwiz”
By: Jonathan Stormer Pezzi
New York— With the killing of Qasem Soleimani and the drama that followed, America’s other military escapades have been largely overshadowed. On January 9th, a US drone strike targeting a Taliban splinter-cell commander resulted in scores of casualties, killing both Taliban fighters and innocent civilians.
Although the exact count of the deceased is unknown, approximately 60 civilians have died in the attack. Between 30 and 35 Taliban were killed as well.
The man they were targeting, Mullah Mohammad Nangyalai, was the regional commander of an insurgent faction in Afghanistan’s Herat province. Nangyalai also died in the strike.
Nangyalai joined a splinter faction of the Taliban in 2015 following the death of Mohammed Omar, the group’s founder. However, according to Tolo News, an Afghan newspaper, there is suspicion of why Nangyalai was targeted.
Photo of Mullah Nangyalai, Taliban commander and Governor of Herat cr: starsandstripes.com
After the Taliban split in 2015, two leaders emerged. Akhtar Mansour, who led the segment at odds with the United States, announced he would lead the group. The other sect, led by Mullah Rasul, declared opposition to Mansour. Nangyalai pledged allegiance to Rasul’s group and was later made a commander and governor of Herat.
What has led to this suspicion; however, is that while these two factions fought for primacy, Rasul and Nangyalai allegedly cooperated with the Afghan government. For the Afghan and US militaries to then launch an attack targeted at Nangyalai has left some curious and confused.
The Afghan Ministry of Defense asserts the strike was a joint mission with US Pentagon, but according to Afghan news sources, many believe the attack was a mistake.
“Sometimes during the operations, mistakes can happen--an investigation has been launched to find out whether such a thing had occurred,” said the police chief of Herat, Gen. Aminullah Amarkhel.
According to Antiwar.com, the strike was carried out in retaliation for an attack on an anti-Taliban militia group that left 16 dead.
This attack comes as the US and the Taliban are conducting peace negotiations. The talks have been ongoing since February 2019. Both sides have claimed progress, but still no official agreement has been made.