JALALABAD (AFP/Reuters) - Nato on Thursday admitted killing a number of civilians during military operations in eastern Afghanistan after President Hamid Karzai launched a probe into the case. During joint Afghan-Nato operations to hunt down a Taliban commander in a village in Nangarhar province, Natos International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said troops came under fire and that civilians were killed in the ensuing fight. Following information received from provincial and local Nangarhar officials, it appears that between four and a dozen or more civilians were killed, Isaf spokesman Rear-Admiral Greg Smith said in an emailed statement. Coalition forces deeply regret that our joint operation appears to have resulted in civilian loss of life and we express our sincerest condolences to the families, said Smith, adding that an investigation would be carried out with the Afghan government. Karzai had ordered a probe after a district chief said a total of 26 people had been killed in two separate incidents in his area. Coalition forces had an operation last night. In one place, Nakrkhail village, they hit one vehicle and killed 12 civilians, said Mohammad Hassan, district chief of Khogyani district in Nangarhar, on Thursday. Hassan said 14 people also were killed in another village, Hashimkhail, but that it was not clear how many insurgents and civilians were among the dead. There are some civilians among them, Hassan said. Isaf said its operations on Wednesday night were carried out not in Khogyani, but in neighbouring Sherzad district, but other details appeared to tally. In Sherzad, Isaf said coalition forces had killed 15-20 insurgents, including two Taliban leaders, as well as the civilians. Once the gun battle was over, the ground troops left the area while a team of soldiers in a helicopter above continued shooting to cover them, Isaf said. President Karzai, who has urged Afghan and international forces to minimise civilian casualties, was saddened by the incident, a statement from his office said. The president whos currently in Iran is saddened over possible civilian casualties... and has ordered relevant authorities to urgently and broadly investigate this incident, the statement said. On Wednesday, nine civilians travelling to collect voting cards were killed in volatile southern Helmand province when their vehicle struck an insurgent-placed roadside bomb, Karzais office said.