Karzai Blasts US for Deadly Air Strike

Civilians, mostly children, killed

(NEWSER) - The UN has evidence that a coalition airstrike did indeed kill roughly 90 civilians, most of them children, in Afghanistan last week, Reuters reports. The US has been insisting that only 30 were killed in the strike, most of them Taliban militants, but the UN’s special mission to Afghanistan today announced that it had “convincing evidence” of massive civilian casualties. More»

President calls alleged shooting of civilians 'tragic and shocking'

(NEWSER) - President Obama weighed in today with his own reaction to the 16 Afghans allegedly gunned down by one or more US soldiers, the AP reports. He called the killings "tragic and shocking" and promised "to get the facts as quickly as possible and to hold accountable anyone responsible." Earlier, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said he talked to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, telling him a suspect had been arrested and that "we will bring those responsible to justice." See more reactions here . More»

Reports vary, but murders could push US-Afghan relations to the brink

(NEWSER) - US and Afghan officials alike are scrambling in the wake of today's rampage that claimed the lives of 16 Afghan civilians , as relations between the two nations threaten to boil over. The latest reactions, along with emerging details:

• Reuters has the most incendiary report, alleging that more than one US servicemember was involved in the shooting spree, and that the Americans were "laughing and appeared drunk." "They were all drunk and shooting all over the place. Their bodies were riddled with bullets," a neighbor says. Adds a father who lost his children, "They (Americans) poured chemicals over their dead bodies and burned them."

NATO says the matter is under investigation

(AP) - A NATO airstrike targeting insurgents inadvertently hit two civilian homes in the volatile southwestern Helmand province, killing 12 children and two women, an Afghan government official said today. He said the alliance launched the airstrike late yesterday in retaliation for an attack earlier in the day on a US Marine base. A NATO spokesman said a joint coalition and Afghan delegation was traveling to the site to investigate. More»

Afghan president again calls for more care in avoiding civilian casualties

(NEWSER) - NATO forces accidentally shot and killed a member of the Karzai family during a botched night raid, Ahmed Wali Karzai told reporters today. He described the victim only as "our father's cousin," the Telegraph reports. "The forces conducted an operation, he was at his home, he came out and was shot," said Karzai, the younger brother of the Afghan president. "It was a mistake. What can you do about it?" More»