Suspected Taliban militants attacked police posts in southern Afghanistan, triggering clashes and NATO air strikes that killed 25 civilians, a senior police officer said Friday.

A wounded Afghan police officer lies in a hospital in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, on Friday.
(Rahmat Gul/Associated Press)

NATO said its aircraft were deployed Thursday night after insurgents attacked a convoy of troops from its International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Helmand province.

An ISAF statement said its forces were attacked 14 kilometres northeast of Gereshk town and responded with small arms fire and air strikes.

The insurgents used civilian houses for cover, and in doing so, put villagers at risk, said ISAF spokesman Lt.-Col. Mike Smith.

The dead included nine women and three children, according to the provincial police chief, Mohammad Hussein Andiwal.

The ISAF issued a statement saying it was investigating reports of a "small number" of civilian casualties after the fighting, which lasted into early Friday.

NATO said the aerial bombing killed about 20 insurgents.

"A compound was assessed to have been occupied by up to 30 insurgent fighters, most of whom were killed in the engagement," a NATO statement said.

"We are concerned about reports that some civilians may have lost their lives during this attack," Smith said.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai criticized the mounting civilian toll from NATO and U.S.-led military operations as "difficult for us to accept or understand."

With files from the Associated Press