Civilians said killed, wounded in south Afghanistan

By Ismail Sameem

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Thursday it was investigating an incident in southern Afghanistan in which residents said some civilians were killed and up to 16 wounded in a possible air strike.

Civilian casualties, often caused by air strikes, have been a source of great tension between U.S. and NATO-led troops, prompting the commander of foreign forces to issue new combat orders designed to reduce such incidents.

The issue has led to a rift between President Hamid Karzai's government and its Western backers, with Karzai saying foreign air strikes have caused nothing but the deaths of civilians.

The latest apparent incident happened overnight in southern Kandahar province, the birthplace of the Taliban which remains an insurgent stronghold.

"We are aware an event happened in Kandahar. We have forces down there and they were engaged but I don't know the specifics," said Captain Elizabeth Mathias, a U.S. military spokeswoman in Kabul.

Residents said up to six people were killed and 16 wounded in two Kandahar districts they identified as Shah Wali Kot and Miawand.

"I was at home last night when our house was bombed," a Shah Wali Kot resident who identified himself as Mohammadullah told Reuters television.

He said 12 of his family members were wounded and that a four-year-old girl was among four people killed.