KABUL, Jan 21: The US military said on Wednesday it was investigating an Afghan news report that a coalition operation might have left more than two dozen civilians dead. Afghan officials said an investigation had found that only militants had been killed.

On Tuesday, the coalition said a nighttime raid had killed 19 militants, including a locally feared leader, in the Tagab Valley, a militant hotbed in Kapisa province just 50km north of Kabul.

US spokesman Col Greg Julian said in a statement on Wednesday that a coalition investigation would work to “determine the truth” after the Afghan news agency Pajhwok quoted villagers as saying 25 civilians had been killed in the operation.

Naimatullah Hakimi, the deputy police chief for Kapisa, said a delegation had met local officials and elders and determined that 16 people were killed, including a commander, Mullah Patang, who was accused of carrying out orders from militants in Pakistan.

Only “enemies” were killed in the operation, Hakimi said. “No civilians were killed.”

Late on Tuesday, Karzai met Gen David Petraeus, commander of American forces, to discuss civilian casualties and an increased role for Afghan forces in US military missions, Karzai’s office said.—AP