KABUL, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- About 100 Taliban rebels including five senior commanders were killed during an air strike in southern Afghanistan, Defense Ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi told reporters Saturday.

    Foreign troops carried out an air strike in remote Baghran district of Helmand province on Thursday when many Taliban militants were gathering to watch the execution of several persons accused of cooperating with the government, Azimi said.

    About 100 insurgents were killed in the bombardment, he said, adding five senior Taliban commanders including Mullah Rahim, top Taliban commander in Helmand, were among the killed.

    Azimi said Mansor Dadullah, top Taliban military commander, was found at the site before the bombing, and Afghan troops were still confirming whether he was killed.

    Referring to the incident, the U.S.-led coalition forces said, "During a sizable meeting of senior Taliban commanders, coalition forces employed precision guided munitions on their location after ensuring there were no innocent Afghans in the surrounding area.

    Some media reports quoted locals as saying that 200 to 300 persons were killed or injured in the air strike and many were civilians.

    The spokesman Azimi refuted this claim, saying only around 150 persons were staying there before the air strike as a reconnaissance plane had detected and at most 10 civilians were there.

    He also said foreign troops used "small bombs" in the air raid in order to reduce civilian casualties.

    Due to rising Taliban violence, over 3,800 persons have been killed in Afghanistan this year.