At least ten chidren were killed by a NATO air raid in eastern Afghanistan, local officials said on Sunday.

At least ten chidren were killed by a NATO air raid in eastern Afghanistan, local officials said on Sunday.

Officials said the children were killed during a joint Afghan-NATO operation in the Shigal district of Kunar province which borders Pakistan late on Saturday.
"Ten children and eight militants were killed in the strike, six women were wounded," provincial spokesman Wasifullah Wasifi told AFP.

Shigal district governor Abdul Zahir confirmed the death toll and said people had brought the children's bodies to the centee of the town. The wounded women were taken to Kunar's central hospital, he said.

Civilian casualties caused by NATO forces have been one of the most contentious issues in the campaign against Taliban militants, provoking harsh criticism from President Hamid Karzai and angry public protests.

Sayed Rahman, security commander of Shigal, said one women was also among the dead. "We have reports that 10 children and one woman have been killed in the air strike," he said.

A spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed the strike, but said up to 10 women and children were wounded in the attack rather than killed.

A US civilian died in a militant attack at the spot, he added.
The interior ministry said in a statement the attack by coalition forces killed six Taliban including two senior commanders.