Six civilians among over 30 reported killed in Afghanistan (Roundup)

Jul 16, 2009, 15:28 GMT

Kabul - Six civilians were killed in an international military airstrike in southern Afghanistan, while five Afghan security forces, three private guards and 23 insurgents were killed in incidents elsewhere in the country, officials said Thursday.

International force helicopters targeted civilian houses in Tawala village of Shah Walikot district in southern Kandahar province on Wednesday night, Zelmai Ayoubi, spokesman for the provincial governor said.

'The airstrike killed six civilians and wounded 14 others,' he said, adding that women and children were among the victims.

A US military spokesman confirmed that their forces had conducted an operation in the area on Wednesday night, but could not confirm the deaths.

He said they were aware of reports of an incident involving civilian casualties and an investigation was ongoing.

Civilian casualties at the hands of international forces have become a delicate issue in Afghanistan. The issue has also been the main cause of friction between President Hamid Karzai's government and NATO forces.

The recent deaths came as new NATO commander in Afghanistan, US general Stanley McChrystal has ordered the alliance's troops in the country to make protecting Afghan civilians their first top priority and limit the use of fire power in residential areas.

Meanwhile, a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a convoy of Afghan police in Khasrod district of western Nimruz province Thursday, killing three police and wounding four others, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Taliban militants, who are waging a bloody insurgency against the Western-backed Afghan government and the international forces in the country, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, Afghan government forces killed at least 20 insurgents after they attacked a logistic convoy, which was hauling supplies for foreign forces in eastern region, in Paktika province near the border with Pakistan, Hamidullah Zewak, spokesman for the provincial governor, said.

The attack on late Wednesday also left three private security guards, who were part of the unit that was escorting the convoy, dead, Zewak said.

Also in the eastern region, Afghan and NATO-led forces killed two insurgents and detained five others in an operation in Khost province on Wednesday, the military alliance said in a statement, adding that four other militants were detained in the neighbouring Paktika province on the same day.

Two Afghan national army soldiers were also killed on Wednesday in two separate Taliban attacks in southern Afghanistan, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

There are around 90,000 international troops deployed from 42 nations, more than half of them US troops, stationed in Afghanistan.

The combined troops along with Afghan security forces are taking part in several major offensives against the rebels throughout the country in a bid to to provide a safer environment for the August 20 presidential election.