Women and children killed in Nato air strike in Afghanistan

A Nato air strike has killed eight civilians four children and four women in an eastern province of Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, a senior Afghan official said.

The governor of Kunar province said the strike occurred overnight during a joint Nato-Afghan operation in the Shigal district.

Sayed Fazelullah Wahidi also said that a number of insurgents were killed in the strike but he could not give a specific number.

The UN body monitoring the rights of children said last week that attacks by US military forces in Afghanistan, including air strikes, have reportedly killed hundreds of children over the last four years.

The US-led coalition dismissed that claim, saying that it takes special care to avoid civilian casualties.