The Slatest

U.S. Military Airstrike Kills Taliban Leader, Civilians

Afghan children look on as U.S. soldiers pass by a village in the Kunar Province in eastern Afghanistan on December 7, 2009.

Photo by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/Getty Images

Eighteen people, including one high-profile Taliban leader, were killed in a U.S. military strike on Saturday in Afghanistan. The airstrike, which destroyed Taliban commander Ali Khan’s home, took place near Afghanistan’s eastern border with Pakistan.

From the New York Times:

In addition to killing Mr. Khan and about four other Taliban fighters, at least 10 children died in the strike, and at least 5 women were wounded, said Abdul Zahir Safi, the governor of the Shigal district, where the attack occurred. Afghan officials said they believed that the women and children were relatives of the Taliban commander.

Afghanistan’s president, Hamid Karzai, condemned the strike and called for an investigation into the civilians’ deaths. A suicide car bombing organized by the Taliban killed five Americans in southern Afghanistan on Saturday.

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