U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan say coalition aircraft bombed a Taleban stronghold in southern Kandahar province overnight, killing 80 suspected Taleban militants and 16 civilians.
Kandahar Governor Asadullah Khalid said Monday that besides the militants, 16 civilians were killed and at least another 15 were wounded. The coalition says it is investigating the reports of civilian casualties.
A coalition spokeswoman, Lieutenant Tamara Lawrence, said the village of Azizi in the Panjwayi district area is a known Taleban stronghold about 50 kilometers west of Kandahar's provincial capital.
Meanwhile, Afghan police on Monday found the body of a missing former provincial governor.
Armed men snatched Paktika province's former governor, Mohammad Ali Jalali, along with the former police chief of the same province on Sunday while they were attending a prayer service in neighboring Ghazni province. The police chief was released unharmed.
