KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, April 07, SPA -- An Afghan governor says 16 people were killed during strikes by U.S. and Afghan forcesin northeastern Afghanistan while the troops were huntingfor fugitive leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Gov. Tamim Nuristani says police have reached the site ofSunday's battle Nuristan province, where Afghan andU.S.-led coalition forces believed Hekmatyar was meetingwith top deputy Kashmir Khan. Other provincial leaders say many civilians were killed inthe hours-long clash, which included airstrikes in remotevillages. Nuristani said Monday it was too early to know if any ofthe 16 killed were civilians, the Associated Press reported. U.S. officials and the Afghan Defense Ministry have deniedthat civilians were killed. --SPA www.spa.gov.sa/543774