KABUL, Afghanistan, May 29 (UPI) -- NATO officials Sunday investigated claims a helicopter airstrike killed 12 children and two women in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province.
A spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force told CNN Afghan and ISAF officials were trying to corroborate allegations two houses in the Nawzad district were struck by missiles that killed the civilians.
ISAF confirmed an airstrike had occurred in the region in response to attacks on its forces by insurgents. However, there was no report of any casualties from the strike on the ISAF Web site.
It would be the largest loss of civilian life in Afghanistan this year if confirmed, CNN said.
Helmand province borders Pakistan to the south, where there has been growing public anger for the past year over civilian deaths caused by bombings by U.S. drones.
The region is mountainous and remote, and U.S. officials allege al-Qaida and Taliban insurgents move freely between the two countries.
