The international coalition forces in Afghanistan has admitted the deaths of Women and Children in air strike hours after Hamid Karzai had given America a “final warning” to change its tactics and avoid killing civilians.
A statement said aircraft, which locals said were helicopters, fired into a house where insurgents had fled after killing a United States Marine.
Nato admitted killing nine civilians in Naw Zad district on Saturday, though Afghan officials had earlier put the death toll at 52 including 12 children five girls and Seven boys.
After the attack, a delegation of villagers carried the bodies of all the children to the provincial governor’s house shouting: “See they aren’t Taliban!”, according to reports.
General John Toolan, commander of Nato forces in south western Afghanistan, said: a US Marine had been killed when his patrol was ambushed on Saturday and five attackers had fled to a compound where they continued to fight.
Airstrikes were called in on the building during the ensuing battle, but “unfortunately, the compound the insurgents purposefully occupied was later discovered to house innocent civilians”.
An investigation team arrived in Naw Zad the morning after the attack and is interviewing marines, pilots and local residents but will rest in Dustbins like previous inquiries as none of the inquires has ever pursued any Pilot or Marine in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Hamid Karzai has repeatedly demanded Nato change tactics to end airstrikes and night raids which have caused anger against coalition forces in southern Afghanistan.
The issue causes intense friction between Mr Karzai and Nato commanders who accuse him of stirring up resentment as a populist ploy.
Mr Karzai said after the attack: “We have told the Americans and Nato forces several times that uncoordinated operations will result in the killing of innocent civilians and that such operations are inhumane, but still no one has listened."
