Afghan official: 8 civilians killed in airstrike

Burning tires block a highway between Kabul and Kandahar in Seed Abad, Wardak province, Afghanistan. More than 1500 Afghan protesters demanded a stop to military night operations. (AP Photo/Rahmatullah Nikzad)

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan authorities say an airstrike by the US-led NATO coalition has killed eight members of a family in eastern Afghanistan.

The coalition says it is aware of the allegation and is looking into what happened late Saturday in Paktia province.

Provincial spokesman Rohullah Samon said Sunday that a man, woman and their six children were killed in a coalition airstrike 8 p.m. in Suri Khail village of Gurda Saria district.

Actions of the Taliban kill more civilians than foreign forces, but the deaths of citizens caught in the crossfire of the decade-long war continue to be an irritant in President Hamid Karzai’s relationship with his international partners.