( CNN ) -- The NATO-led command in Afghanistan is investigating a raid that led to the deaths of six Afghans and claims of civilian casualties . The incident occurred Wednesday in the eastern province of Khost in an operation launched by Afghan and coalition forces , and the probe highlights the coalition 's emphasis on avoiding civilian deaths . The force approached a building and `` was engaged with small arms fire . '' `` Coalition forces take every allegation of civilian casualties seriously and will conduct a complete assessment of the engagement , '' NATO 's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement on Thursday . President Hamid Karzai on Thursday ordered authorities to launch an investigation as well . Mubarez Zadran , a provincial government spokesman , told CNN that six civilians were killed in a residential area of Khost province 's Matoon district and he said two others were wounded . ISAF had said it killed six fighters from the Haqqani network , a militant group with Taliban ties that operates in Afghanistan and Pakistan . One female civilian sustained non-life-threatening injuries , ISAF said . `` The target of the operation was a Haqqani leader responsible for indirect fire attacks against the Afghan National Army and the transfer of weapons and explosives throughout the district , '' ISAF said on Thursday . Mussa Majroh , a spokesman for the Khost education department , said a teacher and a student were among those killed in the night raid . Majroh said many people took to the streets to protest the killings . `` They were carrying the dead bodies with them too on the streets and to the front gate of governor 's office in the capital of Khost province , '' Majroh said . Thie incident comes as the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said on Thursday in a report that the use of powerful improvised explosive devices -- IEDs -- by militants in Afghanistan has caused a `` dramatic '' hike in `` conflict-related civilian deaths '' in the first half of the year . Afghanistan saw a 15 % mainly because of `` the use of landmine-like pressure plate improvised explosive devices by anti-government elements , '' according to the UNAMA 's Mid-year Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict .
The incident occurs in Khost province . Six Afghans are killed as ISAF targeted a Haqqani leader . President Karzai orders authorities to probe the killings .