KABUL, April 30: Three Afghan civilians, including a child and a woman, were killed when American warplanes struck a militant hideout in southeastern Afghanistan, the US military said on Saturday. Four militants were also killed during the attack on Friday in Uruzgan province, which has been plagued in recent weeks by a wave of violent attacks by remnants of the ousted Taliban regime, it said in a statement.

“An air strike on April 29 against an insurgent camp in Uruzgan province resulted in the deaths of four anti-coalition militants and three civilians,” the statement added.

Two other children were wounded in the attack and were evacuated by the US military to nearby Kandahar airfield for treatment.

The US military said despite “careful planning” non-combatant casualties were unpreventable. “This incident is not indicative of coalition efforts; every coalition mission is carefully planned, and all possible efforts are taken to prevent non-combatant injuries and deaths,” the statement said.

“In some cases, operations are dramatically altered to prevent any risk to injuring non-combatants,” it added. The statement said the raid was part of a series of attacks over militant hideouts in the region since Thursday.

MINE BLAST: Meanwhile a landmine blast in eastern Afghanistan killed three Afghan counter-narcotics police and wounded two others on Saturday as they were examining poppy crops in the region, police said. The anti-drugs team was on its way back from Manogay district in Kunar after an initial assessment of the poppy fields.