NATO Airstrike Kills 10 In Afghanistan, Whether They Were ‘Bad Guys’ Is Debatable

A NATO airstrike has reportedly killed at least 10 in Afghanistan, but whether they were civilians or militants depends on who you ask.

Fox News reports that the strike hit a pickup truck carrying women and children in eastern Afghanistan, per a report from provincial officials issued Saturday. Kunar Police Chief Abdul Habib Sayedkhil told AFP that the strike also killed four armed insurgents.

“At least four women, four children and two civilian drivers were killed in a NATO airstrike in Wattapur district of Kunar province,” he said.

Provincial Governor Shujaul Mulk Jalala said the same.

“I can confirm that four armed insurgents belonging to Al-Qaeda were also killed in the airstrike,” he said.

But a spokeswoman for the International Security Assistance Force said that the NATO airstrike only killed militants, and that claims from local officials in Afghanistan are merely examples of a continuing conflict with President Hamid Karzai and his international backers.

“We can confirm that we undertook a precision strike in Watarpur district of Kunar, and are able to confirm 10 enemy forces killed,” First Lieutenant AnnMarie Annicelli told Reuters.

“At this time, we have no reports of any civilian casualties in regards to this incident,” ISAF said in a separate statement.

NATO participation in Afghanistan is winding down, and local security forces are slowly taking more responsibility for the war-torn country. Still, violence has been on the rise.

Roughly 1,000 civilians have been killed with another 2,000 injured in the first half of 2013, according to a UN report. This is a 23 percent increase from the same period last year.

Locals authorities say that the civilians killed in the NATO airstrike were offering Al Qaeda insurgents a lift.