Afghan officials say at least 19 civilians killed in NATO airstrike in south

Afghan officials: airstrike kills 19 civilians

KABUL — Afghan officials say at least 19 civilians have been killed by a NATO airstrike on a convoy of vehicles in southern Afghanistan.

NATO confirms that it fired Sunday on a group of vehicles that it believed contained insurgents, only to discover later that women and children were in the cars. NATO did not provide a figure of how many died.

The head of the provincial council for Uruzgan province, Amanullah Hothaki, says 19 people were killed in the strike, which hit three minibuses as they drove down a main road.

Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary said he had reports of 27 people killed. He said there were 42 people in the vehicles, all of them civilians.

The Afghan government and NATO have launched an investigation.