Wounded Afghan man is attended to at hospital after US-led air strike in Kandahar 2:120 Caption A wounded Afghan man is attended to at a hospital after a U.S.-led air strike in Kandahar, Afghanistan May 22, 2006. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

KABUL, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-led Coalition force's air raid in the Afghan southern province of Kandahar left up to 80 Taliban militants and 16 civilians killed, authorities said on Monday.

    The operation launched early Monday morning in the Kandahar region near the village of Azizi resulted in the unconfirmed deaths of possibly up to 80 Taliban members, the Coalition said in its latest statement, raising the death toll from 50.

    Initial assessments have confirmed 20 Taliban militants killed with an unconfirmed 60 additional Taliban casualties, it said. Five Taliban militants have also been detained.

    "Coalition forces are aware of media reports of civilian casualties and are continuing to review assessments from ground elements in the region," it added.

    Earlier in the day, Kandahar Governor Asadullah Khalid has confirmed that at least 16 civilians were killed in the air strike.

    "According to the report I got so far, at least 60 Taliban militants and 16 local people were killed in the air strike," the governor told Xinhua when he was visiting a hospital in Kandahar city.

    However, an eyewitness told Xinhua that some 50 civilians were killed in the air strike.

    "Over 50 people, 26 of them from one family, in Tolokan village were killed in the bombardments carried out by the foreign air crafts and 17 wounded people including women and children have been taken to Mirwias hospital in Kandahar city," said Atta Mohammad, who lost 26 members of his family.

    "I only could bring 10 seriously injured members of my family to hospital," Mohammad added.

    The air attacks, Mohammad said began Sunday evening and continued till early Monday morning.

    The bloody air raids came just couple of days after heavy clashes in Panjwai district where some 100 Taliban-linked militants were killed.

    Kandahar, the former stronghold of Taliban, and Helmand, Uruzgan, Zabul provinces in southern Afghanistan have been the scene of violent incidents last week, during which over 260 people have been killed, including three Americans, two French troopers and one Canadian soldier. Enditem