Afghans say NATO airstrike kills 15, including women and children; NATO says 10 insurgents die

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan officials say an apparent NATO airstrike has killed 15 people — nine of them civilians, including women and children — in an eastern province where the Taliban are strong.

NATO, however, says 10 insurgents were killed.

Kunar province police chief Abdul Habib Sayed Khaili says the airstrike hit a pickup truck soon after three Arab and three Afghan militants boarded it Saturday evening. He said some reports called it a drone strike.

But NATO spokeswoman 1st Lt. AnnMarie Annicelli said Sunday that it was a precision airstrike that killed 10 "enemy forces" and that she had no reports of civilians dying.

Civilian deaths in NATO operations have long been a sore point between Afghanistan and the U.S.-led troops here.