An air raid on the Taliban militant group by Afghan government forces has reportedly killed at least 40 civilians. The government says it will look into what happened.

The Afghan government announced that its forces assaulted Taliban hideouts in the southern province of Helmand on Sunday night.

It said the attack killed 22 militants, and that its commandos captured 14 others, including Pakistanis.

Helmand authorities said on Monday that the government also conducted a massive air raid in the area, killing 40 civilians.

They say many residents had gathered for a wedding party at the time.

A government spokesperson told NHK that it had received no reports of civilian casualties, but that it will look into the situation.

The latest raid comes only days after a drone strike on the Islamic State militant group by Afghan security forces and US military forces stationed in the region reportedly killed at least 30 civilians in eastern Nangarhar province.

NHK