According to a doctor who spoke to some women who survived the bombing, the Taliban prevented the civilians from leaving the house when the joint force shouted for the civilians to come out. A United Nations human rights team that has been investigating the circumstances surrounding the attack said its researchers had also heard that civilians were prevented from leaving the house, but with two versions of the details. In one, the Taliban told the women, elderly men and children that if they walked outside, they would be shot. In the other, the Taliban fighters prevented their going.

“You will never know for sure what motivated people to stay inside,” said James Rodehaver, the acting head of human rights for the United Nations team.

“All you can go on is whether they say they felt coerced or threatened, and that’s standard in a situation where you have fighters taking cover with civilians,” he said. “Could you seriously expect that a civilian would flee their home when armed men are awaiting them outside?”

The larger question the episode raises for human rights advocates is whether killing these particular Taliban fighters justified the use of air power, which always poses risks to any civilians who are nearby.

“You have to ask: what was the value of these Taliban that the military would risk using something as indiscriminate as air power on a civilian house?” said Mr. Rodehaver. “It’s a matter of proportionality and distinction of targets, and it was fully apparent that this was a civilian residence.”

In northern Afghanistan on Friday, the Taliban detonated an explosive device at a security wall around the jail in Sar-i-Pul Province, allowing those inside to escape through the hole. Several people, including three police officers and four prisoners, were killed in the blast and ensuing fighting, said Abdul Jabar Haqbeen, governor of Sar-i-Pul. More than a dozen escaped, Mr. Haqbeen said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the jail break in a statement posted on their Web site.