PUL-E-ALAM (Afghanistan) (NNN-AGENCIES) -- Five civilians were killed when warplanes of NATO-led troops carried out an airstrike against the Taliban in Logar province, 60 km south of capital city of Kabul, a spokesman for the provincial administration said on Friday."A joint unit of Afghan and NATO-led troops came in contact with the Taliban in Baraki Barak district overnight triggering a gun battle that left three Afghan army soldiers dead and a foreign soldier injured," Din Mohammad Darwish told Xinhua.
He said in retaliation, troops called on air support and that the air power pounded a compound used by insurgents to fire on security forces.
In the aftermath of the strike, conducted at around 00:30 a.m. local time Friday, troops found that five civilians including three women were killed in the incident.
However, according to Darwish, three Taliban insurgents including a group commander named Qari Hijran were also killed in the attack.
According to locals all the victims were members of the same family and the head of the family Mohammad Asif was also injured. However, it has not been clear immediately whether Asif gave shelter to the militants or they broke in.
The deaths of Afghan civilians by NATO-led troops during operations against the Taliban outfit have long been a contentious issue between the Afghan government and the U.S. and NATO forces in the insurgency-hit country.
In the meantime, purported Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in talks with local media via cell phone from an undisclosed location confirmed three of the outfit militants were killed in Baraki Barak of Logar province Thursday night, but insisted that the Taliban also killed over 10 Afghan and NATO soldiers in the fight which lasted for hours.
The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since the militant group announced to launch a spring offensive from May 1 against Afghan and NATO-led troops stationed in Afghanistan.
In HERAT PROVINCE, a powerful explosion in Afghanistan's western Herat province has killed a woman and wounded at least 10 other people, local Afghan authorities say.
The casualties come as the bomb hidden in a vegetable cart exploded in Herat city on Friday.
“One civilian was killed and ten others were wounded when explosives planted near the provincial police headquarters went off in western Herat city on Friday,” Reuters quoted Heart's police chief Ghulam Faruq Kohistani as saying.
The wounded were taken to a nearby hospital where they were treated.
“We received a body of 50-year-old woman and ten wounded people from the incident. The two wounded are in critical condition,” medics said
No group has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack.
UN figures released last month showed that the first six months of 2011 had been the deadliest of the war for ordinary Afghans, with 1,462 killed, a rise of 15 percent on the same period last year.
Security situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating despite the presence of some 150,000 foreign troops in the war-torn country.
In BAGHLAN PROVINCE, at least four people injured when a powerful bomb went off Friday morning near an Afghan army vehicle along a high way in Afghanistan's northern Baghlan province, reported local TV channel Tolo News.
According to the report the blast took place at around 08:30 a. m. local time Friday along the main highway connecting capital city of Kabul to northern provinces and the blast occurred between Khinjan and Dushi areas in Baghlan province
Meantime, administrative chief of Dushi district Shamsuddin Sarhadi told Xinhua that the blast was a roadside bombing against an army pickup passing by the areas.
"The army pickup was traveling from Kabul to Baghlan's provincial capital Pul-e-Khumri and the blast injured four people included an army officer and four women all his family members," Sarhaidi said.
He said the injured, including one in critical conditions, were transported to a provincial capital hospital and no civilians were armed in the blast.
No group claimed of responsibility for the attack yet but Taliban insurgents have been blamed for such incidents in the past.
The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since the militant group announced to launch spring offensive from May 1 against Afghan and NATO-led troops stationed in Afghanistan.
The Taliban outfit has also warned the civilians to stay away from official gatherings, military convoys and centers as the militants would attack the mentioned targets. -- NNN-AGENCIES
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