An airstrike by Nato-led forces in north-eastern Afghanistan killed three civilians and injured two others, a local police chief said on Saturday. The incident took place in the Tagab district of Kapisa Province on Friday evening when five residents sitting in a garden were attacked by helicopters, Abdul Jalil, the district police chief said.
He said the Nato-led International Security Assistance Forces mistook them for insurgents and fired on the group. Two shopkeepers were killed on the spot and three others were injured. "One of the injured elderly man died in the hospital later from the wounds he sustained during the airstrike," Jalil said. He said villagers took to the streets and protested against the Nato forces on Saturday morning, but no hostilities were reported.
Justin Brockhoff, a spokesman for the Nato-led forces, said that ISAF was aware of the allegations of civilians causalities. "We are gathering additional information, but our forces had responded to an armed insurgents attack," he said. During that response, "two of them were killed and three others were injured."