Netherlands defends deadly airstrike in Afghanistan

The Dutch military defends a decision to order an air strike in southern Afghanistan that resulted in the loss of dozens of civilian lives pinning the blame on Taliban.

14 people, including, six children and three women were killed in the strike on Wednesday.

The Dutch defense ministry said on Thursday that the F-16 bomber had been called in to provide air support to NATO troops fighting Taliban insurgents in Helmand province.

Dutch military chief of staff Peter van Uhm, speaking in Kabul, defended the lethal airstrike saying the Dutch pilot observed all regulations.

He also reiterated that the responsibility for the civilian casualties lied with the Taliban insurgents, not with NATO forces in the insurgency-hit country.

The indiscriminate air strikes by US-led forces has so far killed hundreds of civilians in the country.

Many Afghan civilians also fall victim to Taliban-led insurgency across the conflict-torn country.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) "recorded 1,500 civilian casualties between January and August, with August being the deadliest month since the beginning of 2009," according to its statement issued on September 25.

More than 1,500 civilians have been killed in the first six months of 2009, which shows a 24 percent increase compared with the same period last year, according to the latest UN report.

Nearly a quarter of civilian deaths have been blamed on US-led airstrikes across the war-torn country over the past months.

The raids have drawn condemnation form the Afghan government and public. The developments also come as evidences of friction have emerged between the Kabul government and Washington over the increasing number of civilian causalities over the past years.

The deadly air raids come at a time when the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has said that investigators are studying evidence of alleged crimes against humanity in Afghanistan.

Despite the presence of over 100,000 troops in the war-torn country, Afghanistan is witnessing the highest level of violence since the 2001 US invasion of the impoverished country.

A security map by the London-based International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) has recently showed a deepening security crisis with substantial Taliban activity in at least 97 percent of the war-ravaged country.

The top US general in Afghanistan, Stanley McChrystal, has expressed serious concerns over the growing Taliban insurgency in the war-ravaged country.

McChrystal, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, told military and defense experts Thursday at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London that the situation was serious and time was running out.

"The situation is serious and I choose that word very, very carefully."

The insurgency has skyrocketed in southern and eastern Afghanistan where the Taliban has stepped up attacks against the coalition troops with roadside bombs and ambushes.

Pressure is mounting on the US and its Western allies to pull troops out of the country amid rising troops and civilians' causalities.