Afghanistan: Scores of Afghans are killed in violence across the nation.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Scores of Afghans were killed Wednesday in Taliban attacks and other violence including a NATO air strike, highlighting persistent instability as foreign troops begin their drawdown more than a decade after the U.S.-led invasion.
The bloodbath spanned from the insurgents’ stronghold in the south to the relatively peaceful north to the volatile eastern border with Pakistan. Two U.S. pilots also were killed when their helicopter crashed in Ghazni province in the east, a senior U.S. defense official said.
The deadliest assault took place in the southern city of Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban, where three suicide bombers turned a dusty marketplace into a gruesome scene of body parts, clothing, glass and other debris.
The Taliban appeared to be targeting companies located at the Kandahar bomb site that provide supplies to a massive military base used by the U.S.-led coalition about 3 miles away. Eight of the 22 killed worked for companies that supply equipment to the base. At least 50 others were wounded.
Last year was the deadliest on record for civilians in the Afghan war, with 3,021 killed as insurgents ratcheted up violence with suicide attacks and roadside bombs, according to the United Nations.
Antigovernment forces, including the Taliban and other militants, were responsible for 79 percent of civilian casualties in the first four months of this year, according to the United Nations. Afghan and foreign forces were responsible for 9 percent. It was unclear who was to blame for the remaining 12 percent.
In eastern Afghanistan, Afghan officials and residents said a pre-dawn NATO air strike targeting militants killed civilians celebrating a wedding, including women and children, in Baraki Barak district of Logar province.
NATO said it did not have any reports that civilians were killed, but was aware of the allegations and had begun to formally assess what happened during the operation conducted by both Afghan and coalition forces.