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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A senior Afghan official says a NATO airstrike has killed eight civilians - four children and four women - in an eastern province near the Pakistani border.

The governor of Kunar province said Wednesday the airstrike occurred overnight during a joint NATO-Afghan operation in the Shigal district. Sayed Fazelullah Wahidi also says that a number of insurgents were killed in the strike but he couldn't give a specific number.

The coalition didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.N. body monitoring the rights of children said last week that attacks by U.S. military forces in Afghanistan, including airstrikes, have reportedly killed hundreds of children over the last four years.

The U.S.-led coalition dismissed that claim, saying that it takes special care to avoid civilian casualties.