NATO Air Strike Reportedly Kills Afghan Civilians

Afghan officials said today that a NATO air strike overnight killed nine civilians in Kapisa Province, north of Kabul.

Reports said the strike was launched after militants fired on a nearby NATO base.

Ten civilians were killed on March 4 in a clash between U.S. troops and insurgents near the eastern city of Jalalabad.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai today condemned the Jalalabad civilian deaths and has ordered an investigation into the incident.

The U.S. military earlier said that eight civilians were killed when U.S. troops returned fire after Taliban militants attacked their convoy with gunfire and a car bomb.

Hundreds of locals gathered after the fighting to protest the civilian deaths.

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