Afghans arrested over disputed air strike deaths

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan police have arrested three men on suspicion of giving false information which led to the death of civilians in a U.S. air strike in western Afghanistan last month, the interior ministry said on Friday.

Anger has mounted over the Aug. 22 raid in the village of Azizabad in western Herat's Shindand district in which the Afghan government says more than 90 people, mostly women and children, were killed, an allegation backed by the United Nations.

The U.S. military, which said 30 to 35 militants were killed, plans to reopen the investigation after a cellphone video emerged showing bodies of people said to have been killed in the strike.

"After examining all the police reports and direct claims made by people in the area, three suspects who are said to be key people in giving false information regarding the bombardment of Azizabad, have been arrested in a police operation," the Afghan interior ministry said in a statement.

Villagers said earlier that an Afghan had fed false information about the presence of Taliban in the area to the coalition forces, leading to the raid.

National police began an investigation into the incident on September 4, the interior ministry said.

More than 500 civilians have been killed during operations by foreign and Afghan forces against the militants so far this year, according to the Afghan government and some aid groups, fuelling anger and causing a rift with foreign forces.

The U.S. military said its investigation of the operation in the Shindand district of Herat found that a top Taliban commander was among the insurgents killed.

It said the air strike was called after Afghan army and U.S.-led coalition forces came under intense fire during a planned offensive in the Shindand area.

President Hamid Karzai, this month, visited grieving relatives of civilians said to have died in the strike and promised swift punishment for those responsible.