KABUL (AFP) — The US military said Sunday it had killed several insurgents in central Afghanistan and was investigating allegations from local officials that civilian security guards were among the dead.
A coalition patrol came under heavy ambush in the central province of Ghazni late Saturday from "dozens of armed militants", the US Forces in Afghanistan said in a statement.
The patrol returned fire and called in air support. "All coalition forces survived the engagement, it is estimated multiple militants were killed during the fighting," it said.
Local media reports citing provincial security officials said that 23 security guards for a road construction project were killed in the strike.
This could not be confirmed as telephone connections to the province were down, apparently after a Taliban demand last week that mobile phone services be cut for 10 days to thwart security force operations against them.
The force was looking into the claims, Major John Redfield told AFP.
Ghazni is one of Afghanistan's most volatile provinces, with the extremist Taliban active in most areas.
The government is trying to stem a growing insurgency by the Taliban -- who were in government between 1996 and 2001 -- and relies on the help of tens of thousands of international troops.
There have been several incidents of civilians or friendly forces being killed in international strikes.
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