Afghan authorities were checking reports Monday of civilian casualties from an overnight air strike by U.S.-led forces, after villagers in a remote region said five people had been killed.
Civilian deaths caused by foreign troops while hunting the Taliban have sapped support for the presence of Western forces in Afghanistan and become a major cause of friction between the
government and its Western backers.
"We were having dinner when the attack happened. Five civilians were killed, among them children," village resident Ezatuallah, who uses one name, told Reuters by telephone from Wata Pur, a rugged district in eastern Kunar province near the Pakistan border.
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He said ten people were wounded.
Zalmai Yousufzai, the district chief, said he was aware of the strike but had no information about casualties.
A spokesman for the U.S. military in Kabul said he had no information about the strike but would check.
Last week five civilians, including an infant, were killed in a U.S.-led operation in southeastern Khost province. U.S. forces acknowledged those deaths and apologised.
