Air strikes called in by U.S. Special Forces soldiers fighting with insurgents in southern Afghanistan killed at least 21 civilians, officials said Wednesday. One coalition soldier was also killed. Helmand provincial Gov. Assadullah Wafa said Taliban fighters sought shelter in villagers' homes during the fighting in the Sangin district Tuesday evening, and that subsequent air strikes killed 21 civilians, including several women and children. The U.S.-led coalition said militants fired guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars at U.S. Special Forces and Afghan soldiers on patrol 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of Sangin. Maj. William Mitchell, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, said troops killed a «significant» number of militants. «We don't have any report of civilian casualties. There are enemy casualties _ I think the number is significant,» Mitchell said without releasing an exact figure, the Associated Press reported.
