A US Predator drone fires a Hellfire missile. (File photo)<\/p>\n
At least two people have been killed in a strike by a US assassination drone in Afghanistan\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s eastern province of Nuristan.\n<\/p>\n
Local Afghan officials said the attack took place on Friday while the US-led foreign forces confirmed the casualties as a result of the air raid. They noted that the victims are Taliban militants operating in the troubled region.\n<\/p>\n
Washington has stepped up its killer drone operations in Kunar and Nuristan provinces along the Pakistan border.\n<\/p>\n
Many civilians have lost their lives in the US airstrikes and operations in various parts of Afghanistan over the past decade.\n<\/p>\n
Washington claims its airstrikes target militants, but local sources say civilians have been the main victims of the attacks.\n<\/p>\n
The aerial attacks, initiated by former US president George W. Bush, have been escalated under President Barack Obama’s administration.\n<\/p>\n
Obama recently defended the use of the controversial drones as \u00c5\u201cself-defense.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
The Afghan government has on numerous occasions warned Washington to stop attacks on innocent civilians.\n<\/p>\n
The US-led war in Afghanistan removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across the country, despite the presence of thousands of US-led troops.\n<\/p>\n
Over the past year, US drone strikes have escalated significantly in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, fueling public anti-American sentiment in those countries.\n<\/p>\n
The United Nations says the US-operated drone strikes pose a growing challenge to the international rule of law.\n<\/p>\n
Philip Alston, UN special envoy on extrajudicial killings, said in a report in late October 2010 that the attacks were undermining the rules designed to protect the right of life.\n<\/p>\n
Alston went on to say that he fears the drone killings by the US Central Intelligence Agency could develop a “Playstation” mentality.\n<\/p>\n
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