A NATO air strike killed 10 civilians, mostly women and children, in a raid on a Taliban hideout in a remote region of eastern Afghanistan, local officials said on Wednesday.
"Five children, four women and a man were killed in the raid," Kunar provincial governor, Sayed Fazulullah Wahidi, told AFP.
A spokesman for NATO forces said they were investigating the allegations.
Three Taliban commanders, including a notorious Al-Qaeda-linked militant leader called Shahpoor, were also killed in the raid, district governor Abdul Zahir said.
The air raid was in support of a ground operation by US-led coalition and Afghan forces in a Taliban-controlled valley in the insurgency-plagued region, Zahir said.
"The civilians were killed in the air raid," he said.
It was not clear if the owner of the targeted house was a member of the Taliban or a civilian, but the Taliban were visiting when the home was attacked, Zahir added.
The Taliban often force villagers to provide them with food and shelter.
{{/usCountry}}The Taliban often force villagers to provide them with food and shelter.
{{/usCountry}}Four other children were wounded in the raid, Wahidi said.
Civilian casualties caused by NATO forces are a highly sensitive issue in Afghanistan and are regularly condemned by President Hamid Karzai.