At least 27 civilians were killed in a NATO air strike in the Afghan province of Uruzgan on Sunday.

NATO fighter jets attacked a convoy that was believed to be carrying Taliban fighters. Three small passenger vans were destroyed in the raid, which took place in a Taliban-controlled area in the border region of the provinces of Uruzgan and Daykundi. The convoy was also thought to be making its way to a NATO base.

Many of the injured, including a woman and a child, were taken to the Dutch military base in Uruzgan, Camp Holland, near the town of Tarin Kowt.  The Dutch Defence Ministry says no Dutch troops were involved in the air strike.

The Afghan government has strongly condemned the attack. President Hamid Karzai spoke of an "unjustifiable incident". Stanley McChrystal, top US commander of the NATO troops in Afghanistan, has apologised, referring to the incident as "a tragic loss of innocent lives".