NATO air strike 'kills nine civilians'

Nine civilians including six children were killed in a NATO air strike targeting a Taliban position in restive southern Afghanistan, the provincial governor's office said on Thursday. The strike took place after a joint Afghan and NATO forces convoy came under direct fire in a village of Nad Ali district of Helmand province, Daud Ahmadi, spokesman for the provincial governor, told AFP. "Six children and three women were killed and another three civilian men were wounded," he said. The wounded were taken to a NATO hospital for treatment, the spokesman said. "Four armed Taliban were also killed in the air attack," he added. NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said the air strike followed "extensive engagement" with insurgents fighting from a compound in the troubled south.