American planes retaliate for attacks in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan – U.S. warplanes launched attacks near a village in eastern Afghanistan, killing more than a dozen people, after assailants rocketed a government office, officials said Tuesday.

Afghan officials said U.S. bombs landed in the village of Weradesh and five unarmed civilians were killed. But the U.S. military said the village wasn’t hit and it had no reports of civilian casualties. It wasn’t immediately possible to check the conflicting statements.

The U.S. military said six children were injured in the clash late Monday in Kunar province when a militant’s grenade exploded as Americans were pursuing the insurgents.

Kunar Gov. Sayed Fazel Akbar said the incident began when assailants fired at Afghan and U.S. military camps near Mano Gai, 105 miles east of the capital, Kabul.

“Then the American planes came and bombarded Weradesh village,” where the fire had originated, Akbar said

Akbar said five civilians were killed in the American bombardment – two men, two children and a woman – but blamed the militants for the bloodshed.

The Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees, which had a team working in Weradesh, said several bombs were dropped and that its staff believed eight villagers were killed.