By Xinhua
Kabul : An overnight air strike carried out by international troops killed at least 25 civilians in Gereshk district of Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, residents said Saturday.
The dead included women and children, they said, adding some residential houses were completely damaged.
Helmand police chief Mohammad Hussain Andiwal said the air strike might have killed some civilians, but he did not have any exact information.
An investigation team was sent to the area, he added.
Earlier, Afghan and NATO forces claimed to have killed 15 Taliban fighters in another district in Helmand province.
"In a joint clean-up operation launched in Sangin district Friday, 15 enemies were left dead," Azatullah Mujahid, the district chief of Sangin said.
Mujahid said there were no casualties among Afghan and NATO troops.
However, a purported Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmadi said only three Taliban fighters lost their lives in the conflict while Afghan and NATO forces suffered casualties.
More than 2,400 people, mostly insurgents, have been killed so far this year in Afghanistan, according to officials.