KABUL - Afghan and International forces killed several Taleban militants in separate clashes, during which over a dozen civilians were also killed, officials said on Tuesday.US-led coalition forces killed several insurgents and accidentally shot dead a child and injured four other children in the southern Afghan province of Zabul, the US military said in a statement. The forces had come under fire during an anti-terror operation in a nomad camp and had returned fire. The dead child and injured children were later found in a tent that had been in the path of the gunfire. A spokesman for the coalition expressed regret to the childrenÂ’s families.
Several militants were killed during an air raid in the central Afghan province of Wardak, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) force said. Ground forces had seen more than 50 insurgents preparing an ambush and then targeted them from the air. Afghan defence ministry said that at least 12 suspected Taleban militants were killed in same operation which occurred in Jalrez district of the province.However, head of provincial council of Wardak province, Haji Janan said that 13 civilians were killed when NATO aircraft bombarded their village. ‘Ten members of the same family and three other villagers were killed in the operation,’ Janan told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. ISAF spokesman in Kabul said that they were not aware of any civilian death, but he said that their forces on the ground were looking into it.
| "It's the usual nonsense but of course we'll check it out." |
In a separate incident, US-led coalition forces arrested five suspected militants Monday night in the southern province of Kandahar, the US military said in a statement. Intelligence sources indicated several militants were preparing to leave for an unknown location and coalition forces were dispatched to intercept them before they left the area, the statement said.