KABUL, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Tuesday expressed its concern about the rising number of civilian casualties from airstrikes this year, as nine civilians were killed in a latest air raid incident.
"UNAMA received multiple, credible allegations that on Sept. 22, aerial ordnance impacted the home of a teacher in the Budrab area of Tagab district, Kapisa province, killing nine civilians, including four children and three women, with several others injured," the mission said in a statement.
The statement added that all the victims from the attack were from the same family, including grandparents and children aged between two and 12.
Five of the six other family members who were injured were women and young children.
It was not immediately clear whether the strike was carried out by NATO-led coalition forces or by the Afghan Air Force.
"UNAMA is in contact with both entities, as part of UNAMA's ongoing independent verification process to establish facts around such incidents and to advocate with parties to improve mitigation measures in future operations to prevent civilian casualties," it said.
UNAMA also called upon parties responsible for operations resulting in civilian casualties to ensure independent, impartial, transparent and effective investigations into these incidents, the statement noted.
More than 1,690 civilians were killed and over 3,430 others injured in conflict-related incidents in the first half of the year in the war-torn country, according to UNAMA's figures.
Out of the casualties 149 civilians were killed and 204 others wounded as a result of airstrikes.
