NATO and Afghan troops clashed with Taliban insurgents and called in air strikes that killed at least 50 suspected militants and dozens of civilians, local officials and villagers said on Friday, as the South Korean hostage crisis continued.The fighting started Thursday night in the village of Kumbarak in Helmand province, prompting NATO forces to tell residents to evacuate their homes because of the clashes, said Gereshk district chief Abdul Manaf Khan. The air strikes killed 50 Taliban and 28 civilians, Khan said, citing villagersÂ’ reports. He said the bodies had already been buried, adding that fighting had continued on Friday. NATOÂ’s International Security Assistance Force said it did not have any information about the incident and was looking into it. The report could not be immediately verified although a local lawmaker and a resident said there were civilians among the dead.
Malim Mirwali, a member of Parliament for Gereshk, said that more than 40 civilians were killed in the air strikes — a figure that one local resident also cited. “The war planes came and bombed these villagers — more than 40 civilians were killed, including women and children,” said villager Nimatullah Khan. “The villagers’ bodies were buried this morning because the weather was hot. Right now, the people are scared, and the operation is ongoing between these forces and the Taliban,” he said.d.
The latest violence comes a day after reports of US-led coalition and Afghan troops battling with militants in the south, leaving more than 60 suspected Taliban dead. A NATO soldier was killed in another incident.