Hi °C | Lo °C A NATO airstrike hit two houses, killing 10 Afghan civilians and four insurgents near the Pakistani border, officials said yesterday.
President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack, the latest in a series of civilian casualty reports that have raised tensions between the Afghans and the US-led foreign forces.
The attack occurred late on Tuesday evening during a joint NATO-Afghan operation in the Shigal district of Kunar province, a lawmaker from the area said. The US-led military alliance in Kabul said only that it was looking into the reports.
Wagma Sapay, a member of parliament from Kunar, said the civilians killed were in one house while four senior Taliban leaders were slain as they were gathering next door in the Chawkam area.
Investigation
Karzai's office said 10 civilians, including women and children were killed, and four were wounded. It said a delegation was sent to the site to investigate.
The statement said Karzai "strongly condemns" the airstrike and "emphasises that the fight against terrorism is not in the house and villages of Afghan people."
Provincial police chief Ewaz Mohammad Naziri said those killed included five boys, four women and one man.
The governor of Kunar, Sayed Fazelullah Wahidi, said the local government had not been informed about plans for the strike.
"This operation was by coalition and Afghan forces," he said. "We were not aware of it."
The killing of civilians at the hands of US and other foreign forces has been one of the most contentious issues in the 11-year war.
Irish Independent
