Afghan Official: Coalition strike kills civilians

Thursday , November 06, 2008    Posted: 09:27 AM

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghan officials says a coalition airstrike in northwestern Afghanistan has killed 13 Taliban militants and seven civilians.

Deputy governor Abdul Ghani Saburi of Badghis province says the airstrike hit a house in Ghormach district early Thursday.

A spokesman for the U.S. forces in Afghanistan says they are aware of possible civilian casualties following an insurgent ambush in the area.

Saburi says a three-hour-long clash between militants and Afghan and foreign troops preceded the airstrike.

The incident comes a day after President Hamid Karzai demanded that U.S. President-elect Barack Obama bring an end to civilian deaths in coalition airstrikes.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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