In Afghanistan, at least 11 people were killed and more than 50 injured on Wednesday during protest in northern town of Taloqan against the alleged killings of four civilians by NATO-led forces. Police had to open fire to control the mob of around two thousand but it was not immediately clear whether those killed were due to firing from police or from some other source.

A police official blamed some opportunists and violence-seeking elements for infiltrating the protests and turning them violent.

Earlier, NATO-led forces claimed to have killed four militants in the area last night but local officials asserted that they were civilians. Provincial police chief Shah Jehan Noori said that the attack was not coordinated with local forces and the dead included two women.

The NATO statement said the females were armed and they were targeting an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan facilitator which acquires and moves weapons throughout the province. Civilian casualties are a sensitive issue in Afghanistan and have created tensions between Afghan government and its western counterparts in the past.