Late yesterday, U.S. and Afghan forces targeted al Qaeda members in Musa Qala, a Taliban-controlled district in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province. The U.S. military said that “massed al Qaeda figures” at the location “presented an imminent threat.”
The Afghan government reported that “a high-profile Al Qaeda group” was “embedded with Taliban leaders” at the raid site.
The joint operations immediately caused controversy, as some accounts indicate that dozens of civilians were killed. The precise cause of the civilian deaths, which may total in the dozens, including women and children, is under investigation. Several reports say at least some of the deceased were attending a wedding party.
Read more at the Long War Journal
