KABUL, July 20: An enquiry appointed by President Hamid Karzai has found that 10 civilians were killed in a US raid on Taliban in southern Afghanistan last week, a presidential spokesman said on rsday.

Another 27 people, all but two of them women and children, were wounded in the July 10 strike in Uruzgan province. The raid also killed around 50 Taliban, presidential spokesman Karim Rahimi said.

Civilians and a legislator from the area told reporters in the days after the strike that up to 60 civilians were killed.

Mr Rahimi said the US-led coalition had launched the strike near the provincial capital Tirin Kot after intelligence that eight Taliban were meeting at a local man’s home.

“There was a raid on that house,” he said, citing the investigation. “That house was destroyed and three other houses were destroyed. Ten civilians were killed and 27 wounded.”

Mr Rahimi He said the Taliban had returned fire on coalition troops from local homes, resulting in some of the casualties. The Taliban had taken some of their casualties with them and some to hospital in neighbouring Pakistan, he said.

The day after the strike a villager named Feda Mohammad told journalists from a hospital in Kandahar city, where he had brought wounded relatives, that helicopters started firing around midnight while people were sleeping.

“Suddenly we heard helicopters flying over and then they started firing into our houses and in our village.

“People got so scared and they started running here and there. They shot people who were running out of houses under fire from helicopter on the fields and everywhere.

“At least 10 houses were totally destroyed, over 10 houses were badly damaged. I think around 50 to 60 civilians were killed and around 40 were wounded,” he said.—AFP