Eleven members of an Afghan family have been killed in an air attack by Western forces near Kabul, the head of a provincial council said today.
Afghan provincial leader Haji Janan
The attack occurred yesterday in Jalrez, 30km west of the capital, provincial council leader Haji Janan said.
"The only survivor from the family is a man who is hospitalised and can't speak," he said. Eleven of the family's neighbours were wounded, he said.
Nato said it had carried out an air raid against militants in a remote area of Wardak killing a number of insurgents. Preliminary indications showed there were no civilian casualties, a Nato spokesman said.
The resurgent Taliban have infiltrated into Wardak in recent months and have been launching regular attacks on Afghan forces, and sometimes on Western troops.
More than 370 civilians have been killed this year during operations by Western forces against militants, according to estimates by aid workers and Afghan officials.
Civilian casualties in Afghanistan fuel resentment of foreign forces and the Western-backed government of Hamid Karzai who has repeatedly called on US and Nato troops to do everything they can to stop the accidental deaths of civilians.
Violence in Afghanistan has increased sharply in the past two years, the bloodiest period since Taliban's removal in 2001.