A Nato commander apologized Monday for the deaths of Afghan civilians killed by an alliance airstrike in the southern province of Helmand at the weekend.
Afghan officials said on Sunday that an airstrike by the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the Nawzad district killed 12 children and two women. The raid was initiated after US Marines were attacked Saturday by suspected Taliban in the area.
“On behalf of the coalition, I offer our heartfelt apologies to the families and friends of those killed,” Major General John Toolan, the ISAF commander for south-western Afghanistan, said in a statement.
He said a soldier was killed by insurgents and the troops called an airstrike that same day.
“Unfortunately, the compound the insurgents purposefully occupied was later discovered to house innocent civilians,” he said.
President Hamid Karzai warned Nato and US forces to avoid civilian killings but did not say what his government would do if such killings continued.
Civilian casualties by foreign forces have been the most delicate issue in Afghanistan. Most of such killings occur in airstrikes or nighttime raids by the foreign troops.
On Saturday, Karzai ordered the Defence Ministry to stop foreign troops from uncoordinated operations and to take control of all night raids.
The directive was likely to create tension between his government and Nato as alliance commander US General David Petraeus has been a key proponent of such operations.
Nato said dozens of insurgents are killed and detained each month in night raids although they have also resulted in civilian deaths. -
Sapa-dpa