Kabul, MARCH 5, SPA -- Nine civilians were killed Monday when NATO forcescarried out an airstrike targeting suspected Taliban militants justnorth of Kabul, DPA QUOTED officials as saying. The airstrike was launched after a NATO base came under fireovernight by suspected Taliban fighters in Kapisa province, said thedeputy provincial governor, Sayed Mohammad Dawood Hashimi. There were no reports of casualties among NATO troops in theattack on the base, but when the troops responded to the firing andcalled in air support, a civilian home was hit, resulting in thedeath of a man, three boys and five women, Hashimi said. The spokesman's office for the Interior Ministry confirmed that aNATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) base wasattacked on Sunday night in Kapisa's Nijrab district. The ministry also said there was retaliatory artillery and aerialfiring by the troops, which caused some casualties among civilians,although it could not confirm the exact number. Colonel Tom Collins, chief ISAF spokesman, said the incident wasunder investigation but he could not provide any details yet. On Sunday, 16 Afghan civilians were killed and 25 wounded whenthey were caught in a crossfire between US-led coalition forces andsuspected Taliban militants after a military vehicle was targeted bya suicide car bomb outside the eastern city of Jalalabad.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/430316