Two Afghan children were killed on Saturday when NATO helicopter staged an airstrike in the country’s south.

Two Afghan children were killed on Saturday when NATO helicopter staged an airstrike in the country’s south.

"It was a joint (Afghan and coalition) operation conducted this morning that killed nine Taliban. Unfortunately, two school children were also killed and seven other civilians were wounded," Mohammad Ali Ahmadi, the deputy governor of Ghazni province where the airstrike took place, said.

A spokesman for the NATO's International Security Assistance Force said it was aware of the reported civilian casualties and was seeking further information.
However he added that the ISAF helicopter engagement was not in direct support of Afghan forces, without giving further details.

It was unclear who called in the airstrike, but President Hamid Karzai recently banned Afghan forces from requesting foreign air support.

Civilian casualties mostly caused by air strikes have been one of the most sensitive issues in relations between Karzai and the NATO-led military.

The civilians were riding in two vehicles near the Taliban post when the attack took place, Mohammad Hassan Hadil, the deputy police chief of the province, said.