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At least 90 people have been killed after a Nato air strike blew up two fuel tankers hijacked by the Taliban in northern Afghanistan, officials say. A Nato spokesman confirmed that the incident happened in Kunduz province. Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen promised a full investigation into reports of civilian deaths. The governor of Kunduz told the BBC that senior Taliban commanders were killed in the huge blast. Witnesses said villagers also died. A Taliban spokesman confirmed to the BBC that its fighters had stolen two Nato fuel tankers on Thursday night, which then got stuck, although he did not say how. The Taliban decided to empty the tankers and local people arrived to take some of the fuel, he said. At this point, a Nato air strike hit the tankers causing a huge explosion. The tankers are reported to have been bombed about 7km (four miles) south-west of Kunduz city. International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) spokeswoman Lt Cdr Christine Sidenstricker said Afghan forces had reported the fuel trucks hijacked and Nato aircraft had spotted them on a river bank. "After observing that only insurgents were in the area, the local Isaf commander ordered air strikes which destroyed the fuel trucks and killed a large number of insurgents," she said. "The strike was against insurgents. That is who we believe was killed." But, she added, reports of civilian deaths were being investigated. One of the drivers of the tankers told the BBC that two of his colleagues had been beheaded when the Taliban carried out the hijacking. Kunduz province Governor Mohammad Omar said most of the dead were Taliban fighters - some of whom were Chechens - although other sources say many villagers had been killed while collecting fuel from the tankers. Seriously burned people are crowding a hospital in Kunduz, AFP reported. Witness Mohammad Daud, 32, told AFP the militants had been trying to transport the tankers across a river to villages in Angorbagh. "They managed to take one of the tankers over the river. The second got stuck so they told villagers to come and take the diesel," he said. "Villagers rushed to the fuel tanker with any available container that they had, including water buckets and pots for cooking oil. "There were 10 to 15 Taliban on top of the tanker. This was when they were bombed. Everyone around the fuel tanker died." Mr Rasmussen said the leader of international troops in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal, had told President Hamid Karzai he was committed to investigating the incident. "It is really a focal point for our Isaf troops to minimise the number of civilian casualties, and a new strategy to that end has already been introduced," he said. "Civilian casualties caused by Isaf are down over 95% from last year's levels. But, as we all know, in conflicts like these, mistakes can happen. In this case, let us now see what the investigation concludes." The incident came days after Gen McChrystal reiterated calls for a fresh approach to the conflict. "The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable and demands a revised implementation strategy, commitment and resolve, and increased unity of effort," he wrote in a strategic assessment.