US drone strike kills 21 people in Afghanistan

Nearly two dozen people have been killed in a fresh US drone strike in a restive district in northern Afghanistan, local sources say.

Provincial Afghan officials said on Monday that the strike in northern Kunduz province killed seven civilians who were being held by the Taliban militant group.

Sources say the victims, along with dozens of others, were abducted by the group on June 8, from a bus en route from Kabul to the northeastern province of Takhar.

Meanwhile, some reports said that the latest US aerial attack also claimed the lives of 14 Taliban militants.

Taliban militants are yet to comment on the fatal airstrike.

Abductions of people, including civilians and police forces, by Taliban regularly happen in Afghanistan.