The U.S.-trained Afghan army was responsible for a New Year’s Eve attack on a wedding party that killed as many as two dozen people including women and children, local officials have said.
The incident took place in Sagin district in the southern province of Helmand, and was first reported on by the Associated Press.
Witnesses said the house where the wedding was taking place was hit after guests fired celebratory shots into the air.
The incident sparked hundreds of people to travel from Sagin to the home of the governor in the provincial capital to demand justice, AP reports.
“What we know so far is that our soldiers fired mortar rounds from three outposts but we do not know whether it was intentional,” General Mahmoud, the deputy Commander of the Afghan 215 corps in Helmand province, told Reuters.
“We have launched our investigation and will punish those who did this,” he said.
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