US-Led Strike Killed 90 Afghan Civilians: UN

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»

Officials say they were gathering firewood on a mountainside

(NEWSER) - A US artillery attack killed nine children and injured a tenth yesterday in Kunar province, Afghan officials declared today. The kids, ages 8 to 14, were reportedly out gathering firewood when rocket fire hit a nearby outpost. The base’s defenders say they responded with “indirect and aerial fire,” which typically means field artillery, according to the LA Times . The incident comes just a week after a strike in the same province that Afghan officials say killed 65 civilians . More»

Participants at a recent meeting say comments offended Karzai

(NEWSER) - US officials were already skeptical of claims that a military operation last week killed 65 Afghan civilians , but now Gen. David Petraeus has apparently taken things a step further: During a Sunday meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Petraeus reportedly suggested Afghans burned their own children in an effort to exaggerate the casualty claims. Two participants at the meeting tell the Washington Post that Karzai and others at the meeting were shocked and offended at the remarks. Seven civilians, including five children, were found with minor injuries on an initial fact-finding mission arranged by the provincial governor. More»