Investigations by US officials have concluded that three of the seven airstrikes conducted in Farah province in Afghanistan last May 4 had not complied with military guidelines, resulting in the death of at least 26 civilians.

The US acknowledges that while 26 civilians have been confirmed dead because of the strikes, the actual number could be higher. The Afghan government places the actual figure to about 140.

The US report states that the strikes were necessary to confront the enemy threat, but that “the inability to discern the presence of civilians and avoid and/or minimise accompanying collateral damage resulted in the unintended consequence of civilian casualties.”

The final three strikes that day, which were conducted after dark, did not follow the specific guidelines dictated by the mission’s controlling directive.

“Not applying all of that guidance likely resulted in civilian casualties,” the report concludes.

According to US military rules, an airstrike can only be ordered only if the lives of NATO personnel or American troops were clearly at risk. However, it must be noted that both NATO and the US have insisted that the foremost priority in any mission is avoiding civilian casualties.

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