NATO confirms Afghan airstrike deaths

• Tweet

KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- NATO confirmed Sunday an airstrike on an insurgent position in Afghanistan earlier in the day also killed a number of civilians.

A written statement from the NATO International Security Force said the civilians were "unintentionally killed or injured during this mission" in Laghman province.

CNN said the NATO statement came out after an Afghan official announced that eight women died in the attack and seven others were wounded. The women had apparently been gathering firewood when the NATO planes attacked a group of some 45 insurgents reported in the same area.

The Los Angeles Times said the insurgents reportedly suffered significant casualties as well. A NATO spokesman said the insurgent unit had been positively identified by coalition forces on the ground who called in the warplanes.