The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said some militants may have been killed in the strike, but many of the victims were civilians, including students, a teacher, and members of families considered to be "pro-government". Civilian casualties in US airstrikes against Taliban and other militants in Afghanistan have long been a source of friction between the allies who have been fighting since 2001 to end militant opposition to the government in Kabul. The strike in Nangarhar province, on the eastern border with Pakistan, killed 21 people, at least three of them civilians, and wounded another 11, according to Malem Mashooq, the governor of Achin district where the attack occurred. Esmatullah Shinwari, a Nangarhar lawmaker, told the Associated Press that a crowd had gathered at the tribal leader’s house in the Achin district to welcome home his return from the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia when the drone struck. “US forces did conduct one counter-terrorism airstrike in Achin district, Nangarhar Province, Sept. 28, and for operational security reasons, we do not discuss the details of counter-terror operations,” he said in a statement. “US Forces-Afghanistan takes all allegations of civilian casualties very seriously.”

There was no information on whether it was an attack by a drone or a piloted aircraft. “We… are currently reviewing all materials related to this strike,” US military spokesman Charles Cleveland said in a statement. Thousands of US troops remain in Afghanistan, with many recent airstrikes and special operations missions aimed at Isis in Nangarhar, as well as helping Afghan forces in their fight against the Taliban in various parts of the country.
A U.S. drone strike in Nangarhar Province kills at least 21 people.