Mounting Civilian Afghan Deaths Prompt U.S. Investigation, 78 Killed This Month Alone

by The Huffington Post News Team [courtesy of Politics on HuffingtonPost.com]

KABUL -- U.S. and NATO military officials in Afghanistan have launched investigations into three separate U.S.-led airstrikes that Afghan officials say killed at least 78 civilians this month.

The investigations come during what U.N. and Afghan officials say is one of the deadliest years for civilians since the war began. In the first six months of this year, the number of civilians killed in fighting has increased by nearly 40 percent over the same period last year, according to U.N. data.