The Taliban are using the homes of civilians as shields, leading to more civilian casualties in the country, said Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, reported TOLOnews. The comment came two days after an airstrike by the security forces is believed to have killed 18 people.

On Saturday night, an airstrike by the Afghan forces killed 19 civilians, including children and women, in western Nimroz province in Afghanistan. Local media reported that Ghani has sent a condolence message to family members of the dead and local elders of the province.

On Monday, the Ministry of Defense claimed 14 insurgents have been killed in Nimroz airstrikes and reports of civilian casualties were being investigated. The ministry added 9 among the dead were Pakistani nationals while 5 were Taliban insurgents.

Relatives of the dead took the bodies to Zaranj, the provincial capital of Nimroz, and demanded accountability for the attack.

Civilian casualties saw a rise as the fighting between insurgents and the security forces intensified across Afghanistan. Afghan special forces have increased their air operations in the last quarter to check the Taliban offensive across the country.