NATO: No Afghan deaths in airstrikes

KABUL -- The U.S.-led coalition yesterday disputed reports that eight civilians, including children, were killed in a NATO airstrike in eastern Afghanistan.

Afghan officials said an airstrike Saturday night killed eight members of a family, but a senior NATO official said there was no evidence so far of civilian casualties. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to disclose the information.

Separately, NATO reported that three coalition service members were killed Sunday in eastern Afghanistan, two during an insurgent attack and one from a roadside bombing.

Four others, including a British soldier, were killed in the south Saturday, bringing it to 169 NATO deaths in Afghanistan this year. The British Ministry of Defense said the soldier was killed in an explosion in the Nahr-e Saraj region of southern Helmand province. The nationalities of the other three have not been disclosed.

The coalition said it was working to find out more about allegations that civilians were killed in the operation foreign forces were conducting Saturday night in Paktia province.

Sunday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta defended plans to wind down the more than decadelong war in Afghanistan, saying the United States is on "the right track."

"We still have a fight on our hands," Panetta said on ABC's "This Week." "The American people need to know that. The world needs to know that . . . but we're on the right track."

Last week, NATO allies affirmed a plan to end combat operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2014. Republicans, including Mitt Romney, have criticized President Barack Obama's insistence on setting a firm timetable for the war because they say it shows a lack of commitment to the region and encourages enemy fighters to wait out a U.S. departure.

Panetta said critics should be mindful that the timetable has been embraced by about 50 allied nations. "That is the plan that has been agreed to. And it's a plan that is working," he said.

"And very frankly, the only way to get this accomplished -- in terms of the transition that we have to go through -- is to be able to set the kind of timelines that have been set here in order to ensure that we fulfill the mission of an Afghanistan that governs and secures itself," he added.