US bombing kills 11 Afghan civilians

Eleven civilians have been killed in eastern Afghanistan after a bomb dropped by an American warplane landed on a home near the Pakistani border, the US military said today.

The Afghans were killed when a 1,000lb bomb landed on the house in the outskirts of Shkin, the military said, calling the deaths a “tragic incident”.

It happened after a checkpoint manned by Afghan soldiers allied to the Americans was attacked, prompting US jets to pursue the gunmen.

Two Harrier attack aircraft were called in and spotted two groups of five to 10 enemy fighters.

One of the planes dropped the laser-guided bomb, but it missed its intended target, the military said.

The US military said four Afghan fighters were injured in the initial fighting and were evacuated to a nearby US base in a stable condition.

No US soldiers were injured.

It said the incident was being investigated.

“Coalition forces never intentionally target civilian locations,” the US military said in a statement.