[JURIST] A spokesman for the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission [advocacy website] in Kandahar said Friday that some 34 Afghan civilians were killed in a US airstrike on a village in the south of the country earlier this week along with about 35 "unknown people" believed to be militants. The number of estimated civilian deaths is over twice that originally reported. Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has already called for an investigation into the incident [Pajwhok report].

Civilian casualty levels in the Afghan south have risen in recent weeks with an increased number of clashes between Taliban groups and US-led coalition forces. On Monday the International Committee of the Red Cross said [statement text] it was "deeply concerned about the worsening situation and its effects on civilians" and called on all "parties to the conflict to respect the rules and principles of international humanitarian law." AP has more.