At least 12 people were killed and 70 injured Wednesday during protests against a NATO raid that Afghan officials say killed civilians in northern Afghanistan, according to local officials and German military officers.

In the demonstration in the Takhar province in north Afghanistan, protesters fought with police and tried to assault a German military outpost (city of Taloqar,provincial capital). The German military said in a statement that the demonstrators threw hand grenades and Molotov cocktails into the base

Gunfire could be heard in a number of neighborhoods and troops at the German outpost shot off rounds in an attempt to disperse the crowd outside their walls.

The protest was triggered by an overnight NATO raid on the outskirts of the city.
The coalition said four insurgents died in the operation and that two others were detained.

Adding to the confusion, it is often difficult to know who is a militant in insurgent-heavy areas, where entire villages are often allied with the Taliban or other groups.


(@CNN/MSNBC/Bundeswehr)