Strike killed 10 civilians, Afghans say

KABUL, Afghanistan — At least 10 civilians were killed in an airstrike in the eastern Paktia province bordering Pakistan, Afghan officials said Sunday.

Shausta Jan Ahady, a former provincial council member, said that women and children were among those killed in the strike carried out a day earlier. He said local residents displayed the bodies and protested on Sunday. Provincial government spokesman Abdullah Hsrat said the airstrike killed four insurgents and that an investigation has been launched into the allegations of civilian casualties.

“We are aware of the reports of civilian casualties, but can’t confirm it right now, as an investigation is ongoing,” said Hsrat.

In a separate incident in the southern Helmand province, an airstrike killed the Taliban’s shadow governor and two of his guards, according to the provincial government spokesman, Omar Zwak.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s spokesman, in a statement said that Mullah Abdul Manan Akhand, a powerful military commander in the southern region, was among those killed in Saturday’s airstrike.

Manan was a military commander and the Taliban’s shadow governor responsible for Helmand, Kandahar, Zabul and Nimroz provinces, according to local officials in Helmand.

It was not immediately clear who carried out either airstrike.