The U.S. denies reports by local officials that a NATO airstrike killed 11 police and counter-narcotics agents in southern Afghanistan.
Col. Brian Tribus, the spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said Monday that coalition aircraft carried out no strikes in the southern Helmand province the day before.
An Afghan official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information, had earlier said that a NATO airstrike in Helmand on Sunday killed the 11 during an operation to arrest drug smugglers.
He said four other counter-narcotics officers were wounded in the strike.
Nabi Jan Mullahkhail, Helmand provincial police chief, confirmed the airstrike but did not say who carried it out or give any other details.