Air strike kills 16 in Afghanistan

Kabul: Drone strikes in Afghanistan`s eastern Kunar Province have left 16 people, including 10 civilians, dead, an official said Sunday. The raids were carried out in the Watapur district Saturday. "A drone attack against Taliban militants in Watapur District Saturday left 16 people dead, which includes ten civilians and six Taliban rebels, of which three were Arab fighters," Xinhua reported provincial police chief Habibullah Sayed Khili as saying. Four women are also among those civilians who lost their lives in the attack, Sayed Khili said. Meanwhile, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in a statement released here rejected the claim, saying the alliance killed ten militants in the attack. "We are aware of the reports of allegations of civilian casualties in Watapur, Kunar. We take all allegations of civilian casualties seriously. We can confirm Coalition Forces` conducted a precision strike in Watapur District, Kunar Province, resulting in ten enemy forces killed," the ISAF statement said.

"At this time, we have no reports of any civilian casualties in this incident. We are continuing to look into the incident and will provide updates as appropriate," it added. IANS