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Afghanistan: 17 Civilians Killed by U.S. Drone Strikes

HeadlineApr 08, 2016

Afghan officials say at least 17 civilians were killed by U.S. drone strikes in Afghanistan on Wednesday. The first strike reportedly hit the truck of a local elder who was on his way to resolve a land dispute—killing the elder and 11 others. The second drone reportedly struck and killed two people were collecting their bodies. A third drone strike reportedly killed three more who had come to see what had happened. The Pentagon has confirmed two of the three drone strikes, but says there were no civilian casualties. Meanwhile, a U.S. oversight office has issued a damning report indicating the $113 billion effort to reconstruct Afghanistan has largely been a failure. The report details shoddily built structures, dangerous roads and hundreds of empty schools. U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko, who was responsible for the report, said, “Fifteen years into an unfinished work of funding and fighting, we must indeed ask, 'What went wrong?'” Since 2002, the U.S. has spent more than $113 billion on reconstruction efforts—more than the total spending on the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after World War II.

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