Nato's International Security Assistance Force said those killed were family
members of the Haqqani network, which is a target of the alliance force. It
did not say how many civilians were among the dead.
A spokesman for the coalition said Afghan-led forces had gone in search of the
insurgents when they came under attack by rocket-propelled grenades and
small-arms fire.
"Responding to the insurgent attack, the security forces returned fire
and called in an air weapons team. The subsequent air strike killed several
insurgents and unintentionally a number of associated family members,"
he said.
The air strike came a day after provincial authorities in southern Ghazni
province said two civilians were killed and one other injured in another
military incident. Nato said it was looking into the allegations.
Eight Afghan policemen were meanwhile killed Thursday when their vehicle
struck a mine in Jawzjan province in northern Afghanistan, police in the
province said.
Police also said that six Afghan policemen and a civilian were killed in
another landmine blast in the restive southern province of Uruzgan late
Wednesday.
The Taliban were not available to comment on the attacks but roadside bombs
are one of their most widely used weapons against the Western-backed Afghan
government.
Civilians are the biggest casualties in the near 10-year war in Afghanistan,
where 150,000 foreign forces are stationed.
Last year was the bloodiest yet for civilians, with the United Nations
recording 2,777 fatalities.
In May this year alone, a total of 368 civilians were killed, 301 of them in
insurgent attacks, according to figures released by the UN mission in
Afghanistan, making it the deadliest month for civilians since at least 2007.
The UN has blamed insurgents for more than three-quarters of the civilian
deaths last year, but the issue inflames anger among ordinary Afghans toward
foreign forces, as they blame NATO'S presence for the increased danger.
The latest civilian deaths are a reminder of the depth of the task facing the
Afghan government as it takes increasing responsibility for security
following the announcement of the first wave of foreign troop withdrawals.
The United States has announced that 33,000 "surge" forces will
leave the war by the end of next summer, while Britain has said another 500
troops will return next year. France and Belgium have also announced limited
withdrawals.
Civilian casualties are a huge bone of contention between foreign forces and
President Hamid Karzai who issued a "last warning" to the military
in early June to avoid "arbitrary and unnecessary" operations that
kill civilians.
Those comments came after he said 14 people died in an air strike in southern
Helmand province. Nato said nine civilians were killed in the strike.
In another high-profile case this year, two Nato helicopters killed nine
Afghan boys as they collected firewood in northeastern Afghanistan, leading
to a rare apology from the US commander in Afghanistan, General David
Petraeus.
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