In May 2009, an American airstrike in the village of Granai in Bala Buluk District occurred that killed many civilians. American authorities investigated the incident. According to The New York Times, the villagers say that 147 were killed, an independent Afghan human rights group says 117 were killed, but the American authorities are skeptical that even 100 were killed. As with all American airstrikes in Afghanistan at the time, it was intended against the Taliban. However, in this instance villagers say that the Taliban had left by the time the airstrike occurred.[2]