Taliban insurgents killed two U.S. Special Operations forces during a firefight Thursday in northern Afghan, and U.S. airstrikes in support of the troops killed a number of civilians, officials said.

…The operation in the village of Buzi Kandahari came after the provincial capital was briefly overrun by the insurgents last month. The Afghan and U.S. forces were ambushed and encircled by militants and snipers with heavy weaponry and called for air support after several troops were killed and injured, a senior Afghan military official said.

The U.S. military then struck the densely populated area, said Mahmood Danish, a spokesman for the Kunduz governor. Many of the casualties were women and children, he said.

 

…A witness said he saw at least 15 bodies piled into trucks after families tried to parade them through the city to protest against the killings but were obstructed by police. Health officials said at least another four bodies were at the hospital. At least 30 other patients were being treated for injuries, 12 of them children and many in critical condition, they said. Military and government officials couldn’t immediately confirm the death toll.

Two U.S. Troops and at Least 30 Afghans Are Killed in Battle With Taliban – WSJ

Sigh….