U.S. military is investigating airstrike that killed at least 13 civilians in Afghanistan

The U.S. military said Wednesday that it was investigating reports that an airstrike on a stronghold of Islamic State loyalists in eastern Afghanistan had killed more than a dozen civilians.

Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland, spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said the U.S. military had carried out an airstrike in the Achin district of Nangarhar province, where American troops have conducted recent ground operations.

“For operational security reasons we do not discuss the details of counter-terror operations,” Cleveland said. “We are aware of some claims of Afghan casualties, and are currently reviewing all materials related to this strike.”

Esmatullah Shinwari, a member of parliament from Nangarhar, said the airstrike targeted a tribal elder who had recently returned from the hajj, a Muslim pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

Shinwari said the elder, Malek Akhtar Mohammad, had invited friends to dinner when the attack occurred before dawn Wednesday.

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A provincial police spokesman, Hazrat Hussain Mashreqiwal, offered a conflicting account, saying that Islamic State fighters were the target. He said the airstrike killed more than 20 Islamic State loyalists, including two military commanders and a judge.

Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor, said the airstrike killed both Islamic State fighters and civilians.

Achin district officials were sending a delegation to investigate the incident, Mashreqiwal said.

The mountainous district of Achin lies on the border with Pakistan, about 25 miles south of the provincial capital, Jalalabad.

U.S. special operations troops have recently been involved in operations in Nangarhar against several hundred fighters loyal to Islamic State, many believed to be former Taliban fighters from Pakistan.

In July, U.S. military officials said that five U.S. troops had been wounded while assisting Afghan forces in regaining control of parts of Nangarhar that had been lost to Islamic State.

Faizy is a special correspondent.

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UPDATES:

6:28 a.m.: This article was updated with Times reporting.

This article was originally published at 2:45 a.m.