Wire: NATO Airstrike Kills 90 in Northern Afghanistan

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2009 -- Newswire services this morning reported that Afghan officials say a NATO airstrike Friday morning hit a fuel truck in northern Afghanistan, killing around 90 people, including civilians.

Officials say a majority of the dead were Taliban militants, according to a VOA News report.

NATO officials confirmed they ordered the airstrike to target militants who had hijacked two fuel trucks. They say they are investigating whether the airstrike killed any civilians.

VOA News said officials in Kunduz province say Taliban militants had hijacked the trucks and brought them to a village in the Aliabad district, near Afghanistan's northern border with Tajikistan. The officials say militants invited villagers to collect fuel from the trucks when a bomb struck.

The incident highlights the growing insecurity in northern Afghanistan, VOA said.

(Report from newswire and NATO sources.)

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