12 killed in Afghan riots

A police post in the centre of the city burns during a demonstration in Kabul yesterday. Gunfire broke out in the centre of the Afghan capital as hundreds of people took to the streets after at least seven civilians were shot dead by US troops. PHOTO: AFP

Five people were killed in the early morning accident in the north of the city, the president's office said in a statement.

An angry mob gathered at the scene of the accident and started throwing stones at the soldiers. An AFP photographer saw coalition troops open fire on the mob, leaving at the least four people dead.

The coalition has said its soldiers may have fired above the hostile crowd but has not admitted to any deaths. Afghan police also opened fire as the protest snowballed, witnesses said.

The incident sparked rioting across the capital with about 1,000 protestors moving through the centre of the city towards the diplomatic area.

One eyewitness told AFP he had seen Afghan soldiers shoot dead two rioters trying to break through a police cordon and move into an area that includes the presidential palace and United Nations offices.

Meanwhile, US-led coalition aircraft bombed Taliban militants meeting in a remote region of southern Afghanistan yesterday, killing dozens of fighters in the latest violence to wrack the volatile region, an Afghan official said.

More than 50 militants were believed to have been killed in the airstrike on Kajaki district in Helmand province, although police had yet to reach the mountainous location to confirm the casualties, said provincial deputy governor, Amir Mohammed Akhunzada.