A well-connected Afghan news agency said today 633 civilians have been killed and four US aircraft destroyed in Afghanistan since the start of US air strikes one month ago.
The Taliban militia has said over 1,500 people have been killed since air raids started on October 7th. But the United States has accused the Kabul regime of exaggerating the figures.
The Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP), which has strong sources within the Taliban, said that on top of the deaths, collated from its own sources, between 800 and 1,000 people had been injured.
AIP said four US aircraft had been destroyed in Afghanistan including a spy plane that crashed near Samangan in the north. It gave no other details.
According to the AIP toll, 204 people have been killed in Kandahar, the spiritual headquarters of the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.
This was followed by 163 deaths in Nangarhar province east of the capital Kabul, 92 in Kabul, 79 in the northwestern city of Herat and 32 in the northern province of Balkh where the Taliban is fighting off the opposition Northern Alliance.
The other deaths were in the provinces of Parwan (22), Uruzgan (18), Kapisa (9), Kunduz (5), Helmand (5), Paktika (2) and Farah (2).
AFP