Eleven people, including six civilians, have been killed in a US drone attack in northeastern Nuristan province’s Waygal district, an Afghan official said Tuesday.
Hafiz Abdul Qayum, provincial governor, said that six civilians and five Taliban insurgents were killed in the Monday night attack.
Qayum said villagers and Taliban gathered to visit an insurgent wounded in an earlier attack when the house was targeted by the drone, killing both civilians and insurgents.
US forces did not immediately comment on the assault.
In a separate attack in western Farah province Tuesday, an intelligence service official was killed by unknown gunmen, said Mohammad Naser Mehri, spokesman for the provincial governor.
Mehri said the attackers managed to escape and an investigation is underway.
On Sunday, US Pentagon chief James Mattis said there were encouraging signs in Afghanistan for talks between the government and the Taliban after 17 years of fighting.
He pointed to the Taliban's acceptance of a three-day ceasefire offered recently by President Ashraf Ghani.
Although the Taliban turned down a chance to extend the halt, Mattis pointed to the way Taliban fighters joined with government security forces and civilians to break fast on Eid al-Fitr.
"Clearly Ghani has hit a responsive chord," Mattis told reporters.
"Not just on the Afghan national government side, but also it cut deep into the Taliban. We'll see how this goes forward."
During the unprecedented ceasefire, fighters on both sides of the conflict expressed hopes it would continue.
