Nato-led forces refute Afghan civilian casualty report

Kabul: The Nato-led international force in Afghanistan on Friday rejected reports from Afghan officials that it killed more than 50 civilians the previous day in airstrikes west of the country.

At least four men were killed in the strikes, a spokesman for the regional police command had said on Thursday. Witnesses said 17 people were also wounded.

But other reports, by Shindand District Chief Mullah Lal Mohammad and a tribal elder, Haji Zalmai, said that more than 50 civilians had been killed in the strikes in the villages of Farmakan and Bakhtabad in the western province of Herat.

"ISAF has thoroughly investigated and rejects claims that ISAF forces killed more than 50 civilians in the Shindand area," the International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.

"Our extensive investigation reveals that the closest airstrikes carried out were 13 km to the South East of these villages. ISAF therefore rejects these claims as baseless."

In a statement released on Thursday the US military had said the raid was against "high priority Taliban targets" and that two "Taliban leaders" and a "significant number of insurgents" were also killed. It said there was no evidence of any civilian casualties.

However, the US military confirmed on Thursday that it had killed eight civilians in an air strike on Tuesday in the neighbouring province of Farah.