Nato forces on Wednesday said they killed four insurgents, including two armed women, during an overnight raid targeting an Al Qaeda-linked rebel group in Northern Afghanistan.
Afghan and coalition troops attacked a house in Taloqan, capital of the relatively peaceful Takhar province, which was used as a base by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), a Nato spokesman in Kabul said.
"Two women had weapons and attempted to shoot at the forces. The first woman had an AK-47, the forces shouted both in Pashto and Dari to put down the weapon but she did not and then she was shot," he said.
"The second woman came out with a pistol shooting at the forces, she was shot too."
Faiz Mohammad Tawhidi, spokesman for the Takhar provincial governor, confirmed the raid but said it was too early to say whether the four fatalities were rebels or civilians.
Although relatively peaceful compared to Taliban strongholds in the south, the North of Afghanistan has seen violence increase in recent years.
Afghan and Nato forces have said that central Asian militant groups such as the IMU are active in the region.