Kabul, February 01: NATO forces have killed at least five people, including a baby, during a night raid targeting militants in central Afghanistan.
Afghan officials say the foreign forces killed the civilians in an attack on a village house in Uruzgan province on Saturday night.
NATO claims the casualties occurred when the joint forces came under fire from several locations as they approached a compound in the region.
The NATO alliance has confirmed the death of the baby and expressed regret for what it called a tragic loss of innocent life.
General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, is expected to issue a new directive on night raids in the near future.
The fact that Afghan civilian casualties are rising has become a major source of friction between Kabul and Washington.
Last week, thousands of Afghans protested against civilian casualties caused by the US-led forces’ actions.
——Agencies