US 'killing civilians by mistake'

Reports from Afghanistan say US forces have mistakenly killed a number of Afghans in their hunt for al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.

An anti-Taleban leader, Mohammed Zeman, said 12 people, including seven anti-Taleban fighters and five civilians, died in a US bombing raid around the village of Agom, south of Jalalabad, the Associated Press reports.

Agom is in the province of Nangarhar where the US suspects Bin Laden may be hiding in the Tora Bora caves complex.

Sources close to the ruling council of Nangarhar province told the BBC that the casualty figures were higher, with 60 people being killed since Sunday.

Mr Zeman, who is the security chief of Nangarhar province, says Bin Laden and his fighters are not in the area.