Kabul - At least eight civilians were killed and two wounded in an airstrike by US-led coalition forces in Farah province in western Afghanistan, the coalition said Thursday. A coalition convoy on a routine patrol came under sustained machine-gun fire from houses in the Bakwa district, a coalition statement said.
"The coalition convoy returned fire and called for close air support on the enemy positions," it said. "A house was hit."
A local official from Bakwa said all those killed were women and children.
The report followed the deaths of at least 63 people in two airstrikes by international forces in early July in eastern Afghanistan. Around 700 Afghan civilians have been killed so far this year, according to a recent UN survey.
In a related development, the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), supported by coalition forces, killed two known Taliban leaders during an operation in the Shindand district of Herat Province, a statement by the NATO-led ISAF said.
The statement identified the Taliban leaders as Haji Dawlat Khan and Haji Nasrullah Khan, while also saying that a significant number of insurgent fighters were also killed.
"There is no evidence of any civilian casualties or accidental damage. During the operation a number of men were discovered hand- cuffed and imprisoned in appalling conditions in one of the insurgent compounds; they are now receiving medical care," the statement added.
Afghan officials both in Kabul and Herat declined to comment about the operation or discuss any casualties.
Meanwhile, a Taliban leader accused of supplying weapons and explosives used to attack civilians and international forces was killed in the southern province of Helmand in a joint operation by Afghan troops and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, the ISAF said.
Mullah Bismullah Akhund died Saturday in the Now Zad district, it said.
