Sangin airstrike

The Sangin airstrike refers to the killing of a large number of Afghan civilians, many of whom were women and children, in the village of Sangin in Helmand province, Afghanistan on July 23, 2010.

Early reports claim that between 45-52 residents were killed as mortar shells hit a mud house, where civilians had taken refuge from fighting. A large number of civilians including children were also injured and treated at Kandahar hospital. For weeks, US military and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) officials denied that there had been any such incident.

About 200-400 people took to the streets in Kabul protesting against the killing of civilians by foreign troops, carrying the photos of those who died in the airstrike.

The Karzai government sent investigators to the scene of the incident, who concluded that 39 civilians were killed in the rocket strike, lower than the initially reported 45-52. According to their investigation all 39 dead are women or children.