An Afghan lawmaker said on Tuesday that around 50 people including some Taliban insurgents were killed in NATO airstrike, but the alliance rejected the claim, saying the raid only killed a dozen armed militants. ( dpa )
Haji Dad Mohammad, a member of Afghan Parliament from southern province of Helmand said that around 50 people, including some 20 Taliban militants were killed in a NATO military air raid in southern region.
The attack took place in Marmal village in restive district of Sangin in volatile province of Helmand on Monday evening, Mohammad said.
"According to our information from the area, only around 20 were Taliban, but the rest of them were innocent civilians," Mohammad told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
However, NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) rejected the claim, saying that those killed were armed Taliban militants.
After a "thorough investigation" the alliance found that ISAF engaged three vehicles, carrying armed insurgents, who fired on combined forces on Monday afternoon, ISAF said in a statement.
"ISAF positively confirmed one vehicle was destroyed and an estimated 12 insurgents killed," it said, adding, "The air attack took place in an isolated area where there was no housing or civilian activity."
Residents of Sangin district, meanwhile, said that the airstrike targeted a gathering in the district, where a group of villagers had gathered to play a local sport.
Taliban militants also claimed that over 40 civilians were killed and some 60 others were wounded in the attack. Taliban always exaggerate the death toll of civilians or Afghan and international forces' casualties inflicted on them during the rebels attacks.
Afghan civilian casualties have become a very sensitive issue as Afghan officials always voiced their concerns that it erodes the public support for the Western-backed Afghan government.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai have several times in the past pleaded with the international forces in the country to avoid civilian casualties, warning them that they would face defeat, as civilian deaths during the anti-terrorism operation would increase the local support for Taliban militants.