The Afghan government has launched an investigation after carrying out an air strike on Taliban commanders that killed civilians.
Witnesses say that most of the at least 14 killed on Wednesday in Afghanistan’s western Herat province were women and children. A spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan said they had not taken part in Wednesday's air strikes.
While details are still being confirmed, officials say the final death toll is likely to be much higher.
Qari Muhammad Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, said that two air strikes in Heart had killed eight civilians and wounded 12.
Two local officials confirmed there had been two rounds of air strikes but some officials placed the death toll much higher.
"Forty-five people had been killed so far in air strikes by security forces in the Kham Ziarat area, Taliban were among those killed," Ali Ahmad Faqir Yar, the governor of Adraskan District in the eastern Afghanistan province of Herat, said. It is unclear how many civilians and how many Taliban were killed although reports suggest at least six insurgents were among the dead.
Hundreds of people had gathered in Adraskan district to welcome home a former Taliban fighter freed from jail as part of a confidence-boosting measure between Kabul and the insurgents amid the wider US-Taliban peace effort.
However, government aircraft then pounded the gathering, Noor Rahmati, a witness who lost three members of his family in the air strike, told the Associated Press.
District elders and well-wishers had arrived to welcome Ghulam Nabi when the attack began, the witnesses said. Nabi said he nine-year-old son was wounded in the attack.
Local media quoted government sources saying that commanders had gathered in Adraskan to make plans to attack government installations and Herat city at the time of the air strike.
The government said they will share results of the investigation and said the military has a responsibility to protect lives.
"The results of the investigation will be shared with the public and the media. The National Defence and Security Forces have the responsibility to protect the lives and property of the people, in this regard, they use all the opportunities and facilities and will not spare any effort," the statement said.
The United States is winding back troops under an agreement with the Taliban struck in February, which was meant to pave the way to formal peace talks between the insurgents and the Afghan government. However, disagreement over the release of prisoners demanded by the Taliban and rising violence around the country have hampered progress, and talks have yet to start.
Nabi had apparently been released as part of the prisoner exchange aimed at moving intra-Afghan negotiations forward. The incident could hamper efforts to start talks at ending the decades long conflict.
US Peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad tweeted a condemnation of the violence late on Wednesday and welcomed the government investigation.
“The last 24 hours have been very violent in Afghanistan with many losing their lives,” he said. “In Herat, photos and witness accounts suggest many civilians including children are among the victims of an Afghan air strike. We condemn the attack and support an investigation.”
The United Nations has been critical of the increasing death toll among civilians in Afghanistan, caused by both sides in the protracted conflict.
It came amid a number of other violent incidents in the country, which continues to see high levels of violence against civilians. In the first nine months of 2019 alone, at least 2,563 civilians were killed and 5,676 wounded.
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- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
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Occupation: Key marker and auto electrician
Hometown: Ghazala, Syria
Date of arrival in Abu Dhabi: May 15, 1978
Family: 11 siblings, a wife, three sons and one daughter
Favourite place in UAE: Abu Dhabi
Favourite hobby: I like to do a mix of things, like listening to poetry for example.
Favourite Syrian artist: Sabah Fakhri, a tenor from Aleppo
Favourite food: fresh fish
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)
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Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
RESULTS - ELITE MEN
1. Henri Schoeman (RSA) 57:03
2. Mario Mola (ESP) 57:09
3. Vincent Luis (FRA) 57:25
4. Leo Bergere (FRA)57:34
5. Jacob Birtwhistle (AUS) 57:40
6. Joao Silva (POR) 57:45
7. Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) 57:56
8. Adrien Briffod (SUI) 57:57
9. Gustav Iden (NOR) 57:58
10. Richard Murray (RSA) 57:59
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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HOW%20TO%20ACTIVATE%20THE%20GEMINI%20SHORTCUT%20ON%20CHROME%20CANARY
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Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
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Rating: 5/5
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1.
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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10.
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South Korea
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