KABUL: NATO today said that four insurgents were killed during

a raid southwest of Kabul,

but villagers insisted the dead were civilians.

About 500 angry demonstrators collected the wooden coffins holding the bodies

from the hospital and bore them atop vehicles in a procession toward the provincial

capital of Ghazni.

Witnesses said foreign troops descended the Qara Bagh district of Ghazni province in helicopters and stormed two houses at about 10 pm yesterday. They killed a father and his two sons along with a neighbour even though they weren’t armed, according to Musa Jalali and other residents of the Baram village.

NATO denied any civilians were harmed in yesterday’s action. It said the raid was a joint operation with Afghan forces targeting a high-level Taliban commander who has organised attacks against Afghan and NATO troops and helped smuggle foreign fighters in the area.

“The joint force engaged

insurgents while clearing a compound and killed them,” the international force said in a statement.

One of those killed was a young man estimated to be about 15 years old who grabbed the weapons of a service member, it said, adding one insurgent was detained during the operation. “They had no weapons, no grenades, not even one single bullet was found in their home,” Abdul Samad, the victims’ relative, told Associated Press Television News. “All those killed were innocent people ... We are asking government officials to think about us all the time and not only today. If there is any matter of concern, they should discuss it with our elders.”