The Defense Ministry stated that on Wednesday night in Takhar province an Afghan Air Force strike killed "12 Taliban including several of their commanders."

The airstrike was conducted in the “Hazara Qarluq" village of Baharak district, the statement said, adding that two nights before, during a clash between "these Taliban" and the ANP, a "number of our police" were killed.

It also said that the MOD has appointed “an investigation team to assess allegations about civilian casualties.” 

Earlier, a source said that at least 12 people were killed and 14 others were wounded in an airstrike in on Wednesday, adding that a "madrassa has been targeted."  

First Vice President Amrullah Saleh on social media rejected reports of children casualties in the airstrike and said that the casualties were those "who had killed security forces on Wednesday."  

“I saw the proof myself and I wrote it with governmental and moral authority,” Saleh said. 

Takhar’s deputy police chief Raz Mohammad Doorandish and nearly 50 security force members were killed in clashes with the Taliban in the province on Tuesday night in Baharak, according to officials.  

The Taliban attacked occurred in the Masjid-e-Safid village of Baharak, according to local officials. “The Taliban has also suffered heavy casualties in the clashes but there is no exact information,” they said.

Baharak is about 15km away from the capital of Takhar.   

A security force member who survived the attack said: “The forces clashed for several hours and we called several times for support but did not receive any.”