Afghan official: Airstrike kills civilians

[unhappycamper]

Afghan official: Airstrike kills civilians
By Jason Straziuso - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Nov 6, 2008 7:46:46 EST

KABUL, Afghanistan — An airstrike in northwest Afghanistan killed 13 Taliban militants and seven civilians Thursday, Afghan officials said, a day after President Hamid Karzai demanded a halt to civilian casualties in U.S.-led coalition operations.

The strike came just days after another coalition airstrike in the south of the country killed 37 people, mostly woman and children.

The Thursday incident happened in Ghormach district of Badghis province, where a three-hour long clash between the militants and Afghan and foreign troops preceded an airstrike that hit the house of a provincial council member, said deptuty governor Abdul Ghani Saburi.

Thirteen militants and seven civilians, including two women and two children, were killed in the attack, he said.

A statement from the U.S. military in Afghanistan said they are aware of “possible civilian casualties that may have occurred while responding to an insurgent ambush on a route clearance patrol in the Ghormach district of Badghis province.”


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/ap_afghanstrike_110608/%2e