NATO disputes civilian death reports in air strike

KABUL — Afghan officials accused NATO of killing civilians in an air strike that left at least 10 dead in the country’s remote east, while the Taliban on Sunday mounted a car bomb and gun attack outside an Afghan intelligence office, killing four soldiers and wounding more than 80 people.

The air strike and bombing underscored the chronic insecurity in Afghanistan as U.S.- led foreign forces reduce their presence and hand over more responsibilities to Afghan troops. The car bombing occurred in Maidan Shahr, a city 25 miles from Kabul.

Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said soldiers guarding the compound managed to kill the militants after the explosion. Four soldiers and five attackers died, in addition to the car bomber.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, conflicting reports emerged about the air strike in the Watapur district of Kunar.

A police official put the total dead at 15, saying four were women, four were children and one was the civilian driver. Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s office later put the death toll at 16, saying only that women and children were among the victims. As he has in the past, Karzai strongly condemned the killing of civilians.

NATO spokeswoman 1st Lt. AnnMarie Annicelli said the military alliance killed 10 “enemy forces,” but that it had received no reports of any civilians dying. She said NATO is still investigating.

Tensions also arose Sunday between the U.S. and Afghan governments over a remark by the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In a recent interview with Voice of America’s Deewa news service, James Dobbins said, “Well, there already is, of course, a civil war in Afghanistan.” Karzai spokesman Aimal Faizi issued a rebuke, saying that if Dobbins’ assertion was true, then the U.S. had been an actor in a civil war instead of fighting a battle against terrorism.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul said the remarks “were not intended to reflect all of the sources of conflict in Afghanistan and should be clarified as in the context of the need for Afghans to speak to Afghans in order to have a lasting peace.”