Official says airstrike in Afghanistan was US

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – A U.S. military spokesman in Kabul says the airstrike that reportedly struck a house in Helmand province on Tuesday night was conducted by American aircraft.

Maj. Bariki Mallya said in an email exchange that the airstrike was conducted in self-defense after Taliban fighters armed with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns retreated into a compound and continued firing on Afghan government forces and their American advisers.

Afghan officials said at least 30 civilians were killed in the fighting, mostly from the airstrike. Mallya declined to say what the U.S. knew about civilian casualties or whether the incident was under U.S. investigation. In a prepared statement, he said the U.S. investigates every “credible allegation of error.” And he said U.S. and Afghan forces were unaware of any civilians in or near the compound.