Up to 12 civilians, 10 children and two women, are reported to have been killed in a NATO air strike in eastern Afghanistan, BBC News reported.

A further six women are believed to have been injured in the incident in Shigal district, Kunar province. Villagers and officials said that the casualties were inside their homes when they died.

NATO confirmed that "fire support" was used in Shigal but said it did not have any reports of civilian deaths.

But photographs apparently sent from the scene to international news agencies appeared to show the bodies of several dead young children, surrounded by Afghan villagers.

A local official said eight Taliban insurgents had also died in the air strike on Saturday, April 6, which is reported to have caused the roofs of several houses in three villages to collapse.