Coalition defends deadly Afghan airstrike

Australian and US military has dismissed a claim by an Afghan tribe which said it was fighting with a rival clan and not fighting with coalition forces when it was the target of a bombing raid in which 10 tribesmen died.

A delegation from the Sabari tribe met with US officers at Khost Airport in eastern Afghanistan to demand an explanation for the bombing, which killed at least nine of its members, and to explain its version of the events, said Khost security chief Sur Gul. The coalition says the planes struck Taliban and al-Qaida forces that opened fire on an Australian patrol in the Khost region on Thursday.