Nato accused of killing 10 Afghan civilians
A Nato air strike killed 10 civilians, mostly women or children, Afghan officials said yesterday.
If the deaths are confirmed it will be another blow to the prestige of US-led forces as they prepare to withdraw combat troops from the war against Taliban Islamist insurgents by the end of next year.
The civilians were killed by a Nato air strike during an overnight raid on a Taliban hideout in a remote eastern region, local officials said.
"Five children, four women and a man were killed in the raid," Kunar provincial governor Sayed Fazulullah Wahidi told AFP.
Three Taliban commanders, including a notorious al-Qaeda-linked militant leader called Shahpoor, were also killed in the raid, said district governor Abdul Zahir.
Zahir said the civilians were killed in the air raid in support of a ground operation by US-led coalition and Afghan forces in a Taliban-controlled valley in the insurgency-plagued region.
It was not clear if the owner of the targeted house was a member of the Taliban or a civilian, but the Taliban were visiting when the home was attacked, he added.
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