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Afghanistan's NATO-led foreign force mistakenly killed three civilians in an airstrike, Afghan officials said Saturday, less than a week before most foreign troops are due to pull out at the end of a 13-year mission, Reuters reported.

The mistaken killing of civilians in airstrikes has been a source of anger throughout the force's mission, frequently straining ties between the NATO force and the government.

The latest incident took place in Logar province just south of the capital, Kabul, Friday, and it involved nomads who had clashed in a dispute over land, provincial officials said.

Authorities in the area were negotiating a cease-fire but NATO's International Security Assistance Force apparently mistook the nomads for insurgents preparing an attack, officials said.

"ISAF launched an airstrike which killed three people and wounded two," said Logar police chief Abdul Hakim Ishaqzai.

He said it was common for nomads, who move around the country with flocks of livestock, to be well-armed. Disputes over grazing land are common.

"The people who were killed were inside a house," he said.