NEW DELHI: As many as 12 civilians were killed in a NATO air strike in the eastern part of Afghanistan on Sunday, police confirmed to Bikyanews.com. Among those dead were 10 children and two women in the latest attack that saw civilians slaughtered. Another 6 women are believed to have been injured in the incident in Shigal district, Kunar province. Villagers and officials reported to the BBC on the ground that the casualties were inside their homes when they died. It appears to have been a reprisal attack after a US diplomat was killed the day before. NATO confirmed that “fire support” was used in Shigal after a US civilian adviser died in a militant attack. It did not have any reports of civilian deaths, but photographs apparently sent from the scene to international news agencies appeared to show the bodies of several dead young children, surrounded by Afghan villagers. A local official said 8 Taliban insurgents had also died in the air strike on Saturday, which is reported to have caused the roofs of several houses in three villages to collapse. BN
