Nato Kills 42 in Nuristan

Twenty two Afghan police soldiers and 20 civilians were killed in Nato air strike, governor of Nuristan said on Sunday.

Jamaluddin Badr, governor of Nuristan told TOLOnews that 30 others were wounded in the air strike in Doab district of the province.

Insurgents used civilian houses as shields as Afghan and Nato forces launched a military operation in the district killing 70 militants.

Nuristan governor said the police and civilians were targeted on Wednesday after being mistaken for insurgents.

The Isaf has sent a fact-finding team to investigate the allegations about the casualties.

The incident happened as President Karzai on Saturday instructed Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak to take over control of night raids from Nato forces.

President Karzai has been critical of such operations resulting in civilian casualties and can provoke people agaisnt him.

Nuristan has been the scene of heavy battles over the past week.

Recently hundreds of Taliban fighters attacked Nuristan province in which militants suffered heavy casualties.

After Taliban attacked distrcts of Nuristan, government deployed more troops to the province to wipe out militants.

Nuristan province is bordered by Pakistan and militants have been active in some of its villages.

from Tolo News