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Afghan governor says civilians killed in U.S raid Reuters KABUL (Reuters) - U.S.-led coalition troops, backed by air strikes, killed 28 Taliban insurgents in southwestern Afghanistan, but six to eight civilians were also killed in the operation, the provincial governor said on Monday. Sunday's raid was aimed at a Taliban meeting in the Khash Rud district of Nimroz province on Sunday, provincial governor Ghulam Dastagir Azad told reporters. "The operation was carried out on the basis of a tip off. Twenty-eight Taliban and between six to eight civilians were killed in it," he said, without giving further details. (Article continues below)
The U.S. military confirmed the mission, but said nothing of civilian casualties. It said the operation was aimed at disrupting militant activities in Nimroz. The issue of civilian casualties by foreign troops is a sensitive one in Afghanistan as it further undermines support for the presence of around 71,000 international troops in the country. In the first six months of this year, 698 civilians were killed, compared to 430 in the same period last year. In the latest operation, U.S.-led coalition forces identified numerous militants armed with AK-47s, rocket-propelled grenades and hand grenades, the U.S. military said in a statement. "Multiple militant groups engaged the force in a compound and in nearby areas. Coalition forces then killed them using small-arms fire. Two additional groups of armed militants manoeuvred against the force and were killed by air strikes," it said.
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