March 05, 2007	Monday	Safar 15, 1428

KABUL, March 4: The US-led coalition dropped to eight the number of civilians killed in an ambush on a military convoy and return fire in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, after first reporting that 16 were dead.

Thirty-five people were also wounded in the incident in the eastern province of Nangarhar, the coalition said in a statement.

The five-vehicle convoy was moving through a crowded marketplace on the highway between the city of Jalalabad and the border with Pakistan when militants attacked “from several directions” with small arms fire and a car bomb, a statement said.Coalition forces returned fire in defence, it said.

A coalition soldier was also wounded. A spokesman said the toll of eight dead and 35 wounded covered the whole event, and coalition authorities were now working with their Afghan counterparts to establish how many of the eight dead had died in US return fire.

The Afghan interior ministry said in a statement 10 Afghan civilians were killed in coalition fire and 25 wounded.

The coalition gave no reason for the disparity in figures after its earlier toll said 16 civilians were killed.

“We deeply regret this loss of life and will work closely with Islamic Republic of Afghanistan authorities to investigate and identify those responsible,” said a task force commander,

Army Colonel John Nicholson.—AFP