Pregnant Afghan woman killed in attack

A pregnant woman is among the three Afghan civilians who have been killed in an attack by US-led foreign forces in northeastern Afghanistan.


On Wednesday, US-led French troops opened fire on a vehicle in the Nijrab district of Afghanistan's Kapisa province in northeast of the strife-torn country, leaving the three civilians dead, the state-run BBC reported.

According to the report, the victims were a man, a pregnant woman and a child. Several others were also injured in the shooting.

The French ambassador has apologized, but Afghan President Hamid Karzai said no apology could bring back the dead and he called on the US-led NATO forces to protect Afghan civilians.

There has recently been a surge in civilian casualties resulting from attacks by US-led foreign troops in Afghanistan. Hundreds of civilians have been killed in US-led airstrikes and ground operations in various parts of Afghanistan over the past few months.

Civilian casualties by US-led foreign forces have also been a major source of friction between Kabul and Washington.

Karzai has repeatedly condemned the attacks and called on US-led foreign forces to stop killing civilians.

Afghans have held several angry protests against NATO over the issue of civilian casualties.

The invasion of Afghanistan took place with the official objective of curbing militancy and bringing peace and stability to the country. More than nine years on, however, Afghanistan remains unstable and civilians continue to pay the price.