NATO forces delivered an air strike on Taliban positions in the central Afghan province of Logar late on Saturday, killing ten militants and apparently three civilians, a regional administration official said on Sunday.
The NATO forces delivered the strike in the village of Takhab in the province's Baraki Barak district. The local TV channel Tolo that the air strike had also killed three local residents. The local administration, however, did not confirm this information.
The Baraki Barak district, located some 60 km (37 miles) south of the Afghan capital, Kabul, is one of the country's most troubled areas in terms of security.
According to Afghan human rights activists, about 2,000 civilians have been killed in Afghanistan since the start of the year in incidents related to roadside bomb explosions and fights between the NATO-led collation and militants.
Since the beginning of this year, a total of over 590 international forces have been killed in Afghanistan compared to 521 servicemen killed in the entire year 2009.
Violence has surged in Afghanistan in recent months, with the Taliban group, which was toppled in a 2001 U.S.-led campaign, staging regular attacks on provincial government officials, police and civilians and planting roadside bombs to target Afghan, U.S. and NATO troops.
KABUL, October 24 (RIA Novosti)
