MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Russian Foreign Ministry has called on the Afghan authorities, as well as international human rights organizations, to investigate thoroughly and impartially the circumstances of the US bombing on November 3 in the Kunduz province in northern Afghanistan.
According to the ministry, "US aircraft bombed several settlements, resulting in the death of at least 10 civilians of that country, more than 20 other people were injured."
"We strongly urge the Afghan authorities and international human rights organizations to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation of all the circumstances of what happened in Chahar Darah district, to hold responsible those guilty and to take effective measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents."
New US Afghan Strategy
The bombing follows August's announcement by US President Donald Trump to introduce a new US strategy in its 16-year-long war in Afghanistan. Changes provided in the strategy included lifting restrictions on the US forces to attack the Taliban (a terrorist group outlawed in Russia) and other militant formations in Afghanistan which had been previously imposed by the administration of ex-US President Barack Obama.
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Most recently, NATO has also announced that the number of troops in its Resolute Support mission would be boosted from about 13,000 to roughly 16,000. According to Jens Stoltenberg, the mission will not "go back to combat operations," and the additional troops will enhance NATO’s training and assistance functions in cooperation with the Afghan forces.