15 killed in NATO strikes in Afghanistan

KABUL - At least 15 suspected insurgents were killed Monday by NATO air and ground operations in southern Afghanistan, officials said.

But the Taliban and local residents claimed that 25 civilians were killed in the strikes.

The military said combined Afghan and NATO troops conducted an operation in Baghran district of Helmand province against a Taliban leader who led rebel activities in the province.

It said troops were fired upon as they arrived at the targeted location. “The joint security force returned fire, killing four insurgents.”

As the troops were pulling out, a group of “heavily armed insurgents” confronted them in three vehicles and six motorcycles at high speed, it said. “Close air support assets using precision fire weapons, fired on the approaching insurgents, killing all 11 insurgents.”

Daoud Ahmadi, spokesman for Helmand governor, said 25 Taliban militants including two commanders were killed in the attacks. But local media cited villagers, saying that all 25 people killed were civilians.

Ahmadi said the area was under the control of Taliban and the provincial government was trying to verify the villagers’ claims.

The Taliban also alleged in an online statement that the airstrikes killed 50 civilians, including children and women.

Helmand was the scene of the largest NATO operation earlier this year, where the military claimed to have recaptured Marjah district. But the militants still hold sway in several districts of the volatile province.

Helmand is also the main producer of opium in Afghanistan, with more than 50 percent of the poppy cultivation. The Taliban are said to partly fund their insurgency with money collected from farmers and drug barons.