Officials: US airstrikes kill civilians in Afghanistan

Kabul: US airstrikes killed more than a dozen civilians in eastern Afghanistan, two provincial officials said on Thursday.

The airstrikes took place on Wednesday in the eastern province of Laghman.

The US military said the operation which also involved Afghan forces and air support had killed more than 30 insurgents.

A military spokesman said he had no knowledge of non-combatant deaths.

The issue of civilian casualties has caused conflict between Afghanistan and Western forces. President Hamid Karzai said this month that air strikes by foreign forces had only succeeded in killing civilians and not in winning the war.