Residents of a Taliban-controlled town in southern Afghanistan said on Sunday dozens of civilians including women and children had been killed in aerial bombing. British and American forces confirmed there had been fighting in the area but the British denied any air strikes occurred there late on Saturday, while the US military was making checks.
There was no way of independently verifying the accounts. At least six wounded civilians were brought to a hospital in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand.
Meanwhile a soldier with the Nato-led international force helping to fight Taliban rebels in Afghanistan was killed while on foot patrol Sunday, the 37-country force said.
However, the International Security Assistance Force did not release the nationality of the soldier, leaving such announcements for the home nation.