Afghan civilians killed in NATO-Taliban crossfire

Mar 25, 2010, 13:47 GMT

Kabul - Two civilians were killed and four were injured during an exchange of fire between NATO-led and Afghan troops and the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan as the United Nations said Thursday that 385 civilians were killed in the first two months of this year.

A joint force of Afghan and NATO troops stationed in the Bak district of Khost province near the border with Pakistan came under attack by suspected insurgents Wednesday, the military alliance said in a statement. The combined forces returned fire.

After the gunfight, six civilians were brought to a NATO medical facility in the area, it said, adding that two civilians succumbed to their injuries while four others received treatment.

'The cause of the civilian casualties is currently unknown,' it said, adding, 'The incident is under investigation.'

Civilian deaths at the hands of foreign forces are the main source of friction between the Afghan government and its international military allies.

Afghan officials have repeatedly warned that the mounting civilian killings have sapped public support for the central government and the foreign forces in the country who have been helping it to fight the eight-year war against the Taliban, which was ousted from power in a 2001 US-led invasion.

'In the first two months of this year - January and February - we have recorded 385 civilian casualties,' Norah Niland, the representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for Afghanistan, said at a press conference Thursday.

Thirty-nine per cent of the deaths was attributed to pro-government forces while 55 per cent to Taliban fighters, she said, adding that the remaining 6 per cent could not be attributed to any warring parties.

More than 2,400 civilians were killed in the conflict in the country last year, according to a UN report.