Women, children among 18 Afghans dead in NATO strike

AFGHANISTAN: A NATO airstrike in the eastern Afghan province of Logar has killed 18 people, including women and children, local officials report. A NATO spokesperson said a team had been deployed to investigate the claims of civilian casualties.

Afghan authorities say the pre-dawn attack aimed at militants in the area hit a wedding. An AP photographer at the scene reported seeing the bodies of five women, seven children and six men piled in vans. AFP news agency also released a photo with victims piled into the back of a vehicle. Local villagers are now reportedly driving the bodies to the capital of Logar province to protest the NATO strike which they say hit a house in the district of Baraki Barak.

NATO says it has received no reports of civilians killed in the pre-dawn operation targeting a Taliban leader.ISAF released a statement, confirming a pre-dawn operation aimed at the capture of a Taliban leader in Logar.

RUSSIA TODAY