French NATO troops have wounded four Afghan civilians on a road outside Kabul, according to an Afghan police chief.

The civilians were inside a minibus which got between vehicles in a French military convoy as it was travelling outside the capital on Thursday, said Kabul's police chief Ayub Salangi.

French troops opened fire on the minibus, lightly wounding the four civilians, Salangi said.

French troops took the civilians to a military hospital in the capital for treatment, he said.

NATO said it is aware of an incident, but did not have details.