Kabul, Afghanistan ? NATO took the blame on Friday for accidentally killing six civilians and wounding several others in eastern Afghanistan — just a day after six Afghan soldiers died in a botched coalition airstrike.

The back-to-back incidents come as international troops are trying to gain the trust of the Afghan people and improve coordination with Afghan security forces in hopes of handing over more security responsibilities to them nearly nine years into the war.

NATO said an assessment team determined that the civilians were killed when artillery fire fell short of its target Thursday in Jani Khel district of Paktia province. A full investigation is under way.

Initially, the coalition reported that eight Afghan civilians had been injured and taken to a nearby NATO outpost for treatment, and that one subsequently died. Later, NATO determined that the bodies had been removed before NATO units arrived on the scene following the errant rounds.