Afghans dispute US version of raid casualties

JALALABAD, Afghanistan, May 30 (Reuters) The US military said coalition and Afghan troops killed six Taliban and arrested four in eastern Afghanistan today, though a provincial official and residents said the casualties were villagers.

According to a coalition statement there were no coalition or civilian casualties suffered during a firefight that erupted in an operation in the mountains of Nangarhar province.

The statement did not mention the location in Nangarhar, but Dadak Zalmai, the chief of Khogiani district, said there was a pre-dawn raid on a house in his district.

''The troops killed three civilians and took four with them,'' Zalmai said.

Several residents said seven civilians, including women and children, were killed and eight wounded in the raid.

Scores of civilians have been killed during foreign troops operations against the Taliban in the past three months, according to Afghan government officials. Taliban attacks have also resulted in heavy casualties among ordinary Afghans.

The US military and NATO are coming under mounting pressure over a surge in civilian casualties resulting from counter-insurgency operations.

Afghans have staged angry protests in recent weeks demanding the expulsion of U.S. forces and resignation of President Hamid Karzai because of his perceived failure to rein in the foreign military.

Faced with a resurgent Taliban, criticism over rampant corruption, lack of development, and rampant crime, Karzai has warned that Afghans' patience with foreign troops is wearing thin.

More than 1,300 civilians have been killed by violence in the past 16 months in Afghanistan, the bloodiest period in the insurgency since the Taliban's ouster in late 2001.

UN officials in Afghanistan had on Monday urged Western troops and the Taliban to respect laws protecting civilians.

The Taliban's elusive leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, today demanded formation of an independent panel of Afghans, the Red Cross and journalists to investigate civilian deaths.

In a statement read to Reuters by a Taliban commander, Omar said foreign troops were most to blame for civilian casualties.

REUTERS SKB PM1301