NATO airstrike kills 27 Afghan civilians

KABUL - A NATO airstrike hit three vehicles in southern Afghanistan, killing 27 civilians, including women and children, a provincial governor said Monday.

The incident took place Sunday in Dai Kundi province when three cars carrying the civilians were targeted from the air, Sultan Ali Uruzgani told DPA.

“In this attack, 27 people were killed,” he said, adding that four women and two children were among those killed. Ten others were injured.

The vehicles were en route to the southern province of Kandahar.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said its forces targeted a group of suspected insurgents “resulting in a number of individuals killed and wounded”.

“After the joint ground force arrived at the scene and found women and children, they transported the wounded to medical treatment facilities,” ISAF said in a statement.

An investigation was underway, it said.