The US army said today coalition warplanes killed about 10 people in a new operation against suspected Islamic militants in eastern Afghanistan, but rejected reports it had mistakenly hit a wedding party.
A 1,000-strong force led by British Royal Marines were air-lifted to the rugged Khost Paktia region for Operation Condor, aimed at hunting down a substantial force of suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in the area, a coalition spokesman said.
Coalition jets and helicopters took off from Bagram all day today to support the ground troops.
The private Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported yesterday US planes pounded Bul Khil village in Khost province for several hours on Thursday night, after a US helicopter crew mistook traditional firing at a wedding for an attack.
But US army spokesman Bryan Hilferty said the air attack was launched after coalition forces came under fire from suspected Islamic militants belonging to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network and their Taliban allies.
About 10 people were killed in the bombing on an uninhabited ridge line, he told reporters at Bagram air base, the headquarters of the US-led led coalition.