| Conflict: | Sangin airstrike |
| Date: | July 23, 2010 |
| Place: | Sangin, Helmand province, Afghanistan |
| Result: | Estimated 39-52 people killed, mostly women and children |
On July 23, 2010, a NATO attack killed and injured many Afghan civilians, most of whom were women and children, in the village of Sangin in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
The Afghan government claimed that a helicopter-gunship rocket strike killed 52 civilians. Many other civilians including children were also injured and treated at Kandahar hospital.[1] [2] [3] For weeks, US military and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officials denied that there had been any such incident.[4]
About 200-400 people took to the streets in Kabul, protesting the killing of civilians by foreign troops, carrying photos of those who died in the airstrike.[5] [6]
The Karzai government sent investigators to the site, who concluded that 39 civilians were killed in the rocket strike
According to a statement by the Presidential Palace, the investigation confirmed that 39 civilians had been killed by NATO-led troops in Sangin.[7] The figure was lower than the initially reported 45–52. According to the investigation, all 39 dead were women or children.