Two Nato attacks 'kill Afghan civilians'

Dozens of civilians have been killed in two air strikes by foreign troops in southern Afghanistan, witnesses said today.

Dozens of civilians have been killed in two air strikes by foreign troops in southern Afghanistan, witnesses said today.

One of the raids by Nato hit houses in the Girishk district of Helmand province yesterday evening, killing up to 50 civilians, residents told to journalists in Kandahar, the main city in the south.

Because the Taliban don't wear uniforms like us, as soon as they are killed, they are called civilians
British army spokesman

The second attack hit two houses in the Char Cheno district of neighbouring Uruzgan yesterday afternoon and killed 15 civilians there, villagers claimed.

Wali Jan Sabri, a parliamentarian from Helmand, said he had credible information that between 50 to 60 civilians had been killed in a battle between the Taliban and Nato forces in Girishk. He said most of the victims were killed in air strikes.

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A British army spokesman said there was an operation but denied there had been any civilian casualties around Girishk.

"Because the Taliban don't wear uniforms like us, as soon as they are killed, they are called civilians," he said.

Some 2,000 British and Afghan army forces have been conducting an operation in the Upper Girishk valley this week to clear Taliban insurgents from the area.