KABUL - A gunfight between Australian forces and Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan killed five children who were caught in the crossfire, the Australian Defense Ministry said Friday.
Afghan officials gave lower death tolls. Asadullah Hamdan, the provincial governor, said three children between 7 and 10 years old were killed.
The deaths Thursday come as the newly appointed U.S. envoy to the region tours Afghanistan, and highlights a major issue President Barack Obama's administration will have to address as it increases its focus on the country -- the rising civilian death toll.
Afghan parliamentarians say they worry the planned jump in U.S. troops will further increase civilian casualties.
Envoy Richard Holbrooke arrived late Thursday for his first visit to the country since being appointed by Obama to define a new strategy to combat the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He is expected to meet with President Hamid Karzai and other top officials.
Mr. Karzai has repeatedly warned Western forces that they need to do more to prevent civilian deaths or they will lose the support of the Afghan people.
Mr. Holbrooke comes to a country still reeling from a bold Taliban assault on government buildings in the capital Wednesday. Eight assailants killed 20 people in co-ordinated attacks in the heart of Kabul.
Thursday's fighting in southern Uruzgan province started with a raid by international and Afghan troops on compounds in a village where insurgent leaders were believed to be holed up, NATO said in a statement.
The resulting gun battle in Sar Morgharb village killed at least three children and wounded four other civilians, said Hamdan, the provincial governor.
The Australian Defence Ministry confirmed the fighting, saying it had reports of five children killed and four other people wounded -- two of them children. Some of the wounded were taken to military medical facilities for treatment, it said in a statement.
Provincial police chief Gen. Juma Gul Himat said he had reports of four children killed. The conflicting death tolls could not be resolved.
One insurgent was also killed, the Australian statement said. No Australian troops were wounded.
A total of 1,162 civilians were killed in insurgency-related incidents in 2008, according to an AP casualty count -- 368 by foreign and Afghan troops and 768 by the Taliban. Another 26 were caught in crossfire.
Meanwhile, an American service member died from wounds received when a patrol came under fire in the south Thursday, U.S. forces spokesman Col. Greg Julian said. He did not provide further details. A military statement said the service member was part of a "combat reconnaissance patrol."
