Three civilians among nine killed in Afghanistan

KABUL - Two children and a woman were killed in clashes between NATO-led forces and Taliban militants in Afghanistan, officials said Saturday.

Six Taliban insurgents were also killed during a joint operation of Afghan and NATO-led troops in Farah province Friday, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.

The ISAF confirmed that the woman and the two children were accidentally killed in the operation, Xinhua reported.

“We are taking a step-by-step approach in investigating what went wrong and are always working to reduce civilian casualties. Our condolences go out to the family of these civilians,” said US Army Col. Rafael Torres, ISAF Joint Command Combined Joint Operations Center director.

The troops conducted operations in the province in pursuit of a Taliban foreign fighters facilitator, ISAF said.

During the operation six militants were killed and several suspected insurgents were detained, it said.