An armored US military personal carrier passes by a damaged military check post after a bomb attack in Konduz on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010.
December 11, 2010 (KATAKAMI / PRESSTV.IR) --- At least 22 civilians have lost their lives in a US airstrike and a roadside bomb blast in different parts of Afghanistan amid growing discontent over such attacks.
The US airstrike resulted in the deaths of at least seven people in eastern Afghanistan.
The Afghan employees of a road-construction company were the victims of the attack that took place in Zarmat district in Paktia Province.
Reports say locals have gathered at the site, expressing their anger over the attack.
The number of US-led airstrikes in Afghanistan has hit a record high. The US Air Force has released figures showing that in October alone, a total of 1,000 air raids were carried out across Afghanistan.
NATO and the US military claim the attacks target militants and their hideouts, however, such attacks often result in civilian casualties.
Civilian casualties and the deaths of Afghan security forces by so-called friendly fire have been a frequent source of tension between the Afghan government and foreign forces.
In a separate incident a roadside bomb killed at least 15 civilians, including children, in the southern province of Helmand. Four others were injured. The bomb hit the victims' pick-up truck in Khan Nashin district.
Meanwhile, a car bomb exploded outside the police headquarters in the city of Kandahar, wounding at least six people -- including four police officers.
Another bomb attack near an Afghan army base in Kondoz Province wounded at least 14 people, including nine civilians.
The bomber reportedly used a police vehicle recently stolen by militants.
US President Barack Obama recently admitted that the issue of civilian causalities had created tension between Washington and Kabul.
Obama has acknowledged that he sometimes has "blunt" conversations with his Afghan counterpart President Hamid Karzai, who has often criticized the US-led alliance for endangering civilians.
"Sometimes that conversation is very blunt. There are going to be some strong disagreements. Sometimes real tensions," the US president said at a NATO summit in Lisbon last month.
There are currently some 150,000 US-led soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. (*)
