NATO kills 16 Taleban, 13 Afghan civilians

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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - NATO aircraft attacked Taleban in southern Afghanistan and killed 16 insurgents and 13 civilians, Afghan police said on Friday, but NATO denied causing civilian casualties.

The attack in Garmser district of Helmand province on Thursday came hours after a separate incident in which NATO said its troops and Afghan forces killed up to 150 insurgents infiltrating from Pakistan.

Last year was the bloodiest in Afghanistan since U.S.-led forces overthrew the Taleban in 2001 but the violence fell off at the end of the year.

The chief of police in Helmand, Mohammand Nabi Mullahkhail, said 16 Taleban and 13 civilians had been killed in a NATO air strike in the remote district where British troops have been fighting Taleban for months.

But a spokeswoman for the 32,000-strong NATO force said on Friday there was no evidence of any civilian casualties.