Two days after four civilians were killed in an airstrike in Kandahar province, the families of victims said the incident should be probed and that those who are found guilty should be punished based on the law. 

The residents of Maroof district, where the airstrike was carried out on Thursday night, said the attack claimed the lives of four members of one family while wounding 30 others.

The residents said the airstrike had targeted a wedding convoy which killed four including a child. They said more than two dozen people including children were wounded in the attack.

“We fetched the bride and were on our way to the groom’s house. We were one or two kilometers away from the village when the aircrafts arrived and started attacking us,” said Abdul Wahab, a Maroof district resident, who survived the attack. 

“Two people were on the ground and two others were near the wedding cars when they were killed in the airstrike,” said Abdul Mannan, a resident of Maroof district.

Kandahar governor’s office confirmed the casualties but said eight Taliban fighters including three Pakistani nationals were also killed in the airstrike. 

According to the office, the airstrike happened when police force members came under Taliban attack and called for air support. 

“The Air Force supports the ground forces which come under heavy attack. We have sent a team to investigate the incident to find out whether the civilian casualties were from the airstrike or because of shooting by the enemy,” Kandahar governor Zalmay Weesa said. 

A report in July by the UN shows that the number of civilians killed in Afghanistan reached a record high in the first half of the year.

The report stated for the period 1 January to 30 June 2018, findings include the killing of more civilians in the first six months of this year – 1,692 deaths – than at any comparable time over the last ten years since records have been kept.

Deaths rose 1 percent to 1,692, although injuries dropped 5 percent to 3,430, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in its latest civilian casualty report. Overall civilian casualties were down 3 percent.