KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - NATO air strikes in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province killed nine civilians and wounded 11 others Wednesday, the provincial governor said, while a firefight in neighbouring Helmand province killed 13 civilians, a resident said.
Kandahar Gov. Asadullah Khalid said the air strike in Zhari district, about 25 kilometres west of Kandahar city, hit three homes. He said an unknown number of Taliban rebels were also killed.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force said an operation in Kandahar province was believed to have caused "several" civilian casualties.
The alliance said the operation was meant to detain people involved in roadside bomb attacks in Panjwaii district, which borders Zhari.
The nationality of the planes involved in the air strike was not disclosed. Canada does not have strike aircraft in the region, although some 2,200 Canadian troops are stationed in Kandahar province and Canadian patrols often operate in the dangerous Panjwaii area.
NATO said it regretted any civilian casualties and that it makes "every effort" to minimize the risk of collateral damage during operations.
Also on Wednesday, a rocket hit a house during a nighttime clash between suspected Taliban insurgents and NATO and Afghan security forces in Helmand province's Grishk district, 220 kilometres west of Kandahar city, police said. A resident said 13 villagers, including women and children, died.
At least one insurgent was killed and three police wounded in Tajikai village in southern Helmand province before the rocket slammed into the house, said Ghulam Nabi Malakhel, the provincial police chief.
Afghan police called in NATO air support during the clash that started in the Tajikai area about 10 p.m. on Tuesday and lasted until 2 a.m. Wednesday, Malakhel said.
"A civilian home was hit by a rocket, but it's unsure which side fired it," he said. "There were some civilian casualties."
Abdul Rehman, a resident in the village contacted by phone, said a rocket fired from an aircraft hit a home, killing 13 people inside.
Rehman said that relatives of the dead told him all those inside the dried mud house - five women, five children, three men - were killed, including the house's owner, Nabi Khel.
Squadron Leader Jason Chalk, a NATO spokesman, said that alliance jets and helicopters fired rockets and dropped bombs on Taliban positions in the area after 2 a.m. on Wednesday but could not confirm that they hit a civilian house.
"For the moment, it's impossible to substantiate that claim," Chalk said.
He said Taliban had been using mortars in the area of the clash.
Since late 2001, there have been numerous other incidents of civilians killed in military operations against Taliban and al-Qaida fighters, although U.S.-led coalition and NATO forces say they go to extreme lengths to avoid inflicting civilian casualties.
They say the insurgents blend in with local populations while attacking foreign and Afghan soldiers. Many other civilians have been killed in Taliban attacks, including scores in recent suicide bombings.
President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly demanded NATO and U.S.-led coalition forces take more care when conducting military operations in residential areas to avoid civilian casualties, which in turn undermine his government's already weak standing in parts of the country.
"The government and NATO are fighting the Taliban, and civilians are the victims," an angry Rehman told The Associated Press.
He said the bodies had been retrieved from the ruins of the five-room house. He said police were at the house and were only allowing relatives of the dead access to it.
About 100 families live in Tajikai, a farming village in Helmand's Grishk district.
This year, southern Afghanistan has faced the deadliest spate in violence from resurgent rebel forces since the ouster of the Taliban in a U.S.-led invasion five years ago.
And only 1 Taliban killed.
Kandahar Gov. Asadullah Khalid said the air strike in Zhari district, about 25 kilometres west of Kandahar city, hit three homes. He said an unknown number of Taliban rebels were also killed.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force said an operation in Kandahar province was believed to have caused "several" civilian casualties.
The alliance said the operation was meant to detain people involved in roadside bomb attacks in Panjwaii district, which borders Zhari.
The nationality of the planes involved in the air strike was not disclosed. Canada does not have strike aircraft in the region, although some 2,200 Canadian troops are stationed in Kandahar province and Canadian patrols often operate in the dangerous Panjwaii area.
NATO said it regretted any civilian casualties and that it makes "every effort" to minimize the risk of collateral damage during operations.
Also on Wednesday, a rocket hit a house during a nighttime clash between suspected Taliban insurgents and NATO and Afghan security forces in Helmand province's Grishk district, 220 kilometres west of Kandahar city, police said. A resident said 13 villagers, including women and children, died.
At least one insurgent was killed and three police wounded in Tajikai village in southern Helmand province before the rocket slammed into the house, said Ghulam Nabi Malakhel, the provincial police chief.
Afghan police called in NATO air support during the clash that started in the Tajikai area about 10 p.m. on Tuesday and lasted until 2 a.m. Wednesday, Malakhel said.
"A civilian home was hit by a rocket, but it's unsure which side fired it," he said. "There were some civilian casualties."
Abdul Rehman, a resident in the village contacted by phone, said a rocket fired from an aircraft hit a home, killing 13 people inside.
Rehman said that relatives of the dead told him all those inside the dried mud house - five women, five children, three men - were killed, including the house's owner, Nabi Khel.
Squadron Leader Jason Chalk, a NATO spokesman, said that alliance jets and helicopters fired rockets and dropped bombs on Taliban positions in the area after 2 a.m. on Wednesday but could not confirm that they hit a civilian house.
"For the moment, it's impossible to substantiate that claim," Chalk said.
He said Taliban had been using mortars in the area of the clash.
Since late 2001, there have been numerous other incidents of civilians killed in military operations against Taliban and al-Qaida fighters, although U.S.-led coalition and NATO forces say they go to extreme lengths to avoid inflicting civilian casualties.
They say the insurgents blend in with local populations while attacking foreign and Afghan soldiers. Many other civilians have been killed in Taliban attacks, including scores in recent suicide bombings.
President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly demanded NATO and U.S.-led coalition forces take more care when conducting military operations in residential areas to avoid civilian casualties, which in turn undermine his government's already weak standing in parts of the country.
"The government and NATO are fighting the Taliban, and civilians are the victims," an angry Rehman told The Associated Press.
He said the bodies had been retrieved from the ruins of the five-room house. He said police were at the house and were only allowing relatives of the dead access to it.
About 100 families live in Tajikai, a farming village in Helmand's Grishk district.
This year, southern Afghanistan has faced the deadliest spate in violence from resurgent rebel forces since the ouster of the Taliban in a U.S.-led invasion five years ago.
And only 1 Taliban killed.
