Afghan police: 3 civilians die in coalition strike

An Afghan police official said Sunday that a U.S.-led coalition operation apparently targeting a suicide bomb cell in eastern Afghanistan killed three civilians.

However, the claim was disputed by the coalition, which said its troops killed two al-Qaida militants.

Gen. Abdul Jalal Jalal, the provincial police chief in the eastern province of Kunar, said airstrikes hit a compound in the province’s Asmar district, killing three civilians.

The U.S.-led coalition said two militants were killed after a fire-fight in one of the compounds. It said no civilians were killed. Capt. Scott Miller, a U.S. spokesman, said artillery strikes were used in the fight but no airstrikes.

-From Associated Press reports