Scores of civilians died in last week's NATO air strike on
Taliban insurgents in northern Afghanistan, a prominent domestic
rights group said on Monday in a first independent estimate
of the death toll.
Afghanistan Rights Monitor (ARM), a non-governmental group
funded by domestic rights campaigners, said in a report based
on more than a dozen interviews with local residents that
between 60 and 70 civilians died in the September 4 strike
in the Char Dara district of Kunduz province.
"Preliminary reports received by ... ARM indicated 60-70 non-combatants died," said the Kabul-based group.
"Even if all the victims were supporters of the Taliban the fact that most of them were unarmed and were not engaged in any combat activity does not warrant their mass killing."
