LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- International forces operating in Afghanistan said Monday they were investigating an incident in which a child died during an airstrike in Helmand province.
The International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said it discovered a child was killed from the "fragmentation of an air weapons teams strike" during operations in the Nad Ali district of Helmand province.
"This is a deeply regrettable accident," said U.S. Army Col. Patrick Hynes, ISAF Joint Command Combined Joint Operations Center director, in a statement.
A 46-page report on Afghanistan from the U.N. peacekeeping mission issued last year blamed Taliban insurgents for the 31 percent increase in civilian casualties during the first six months of 2010 compared with the same period in 2009.
The report said more than half of those killed by insurgents were children.
ISAF last week said it was investigating the death of two civilians in southern Helmand province. They were found dead and another injured in a van following a gunfight with international forces.
ISAF said their troops mistakenly thought the van was part of an insurgent attack.
U.S. and international forces were blamed for several deadly attacks on Afghan civilians, though the U.N. report said deaths attributed to pro-government forces were down 30 percent during the reporting period.
