Red Cross: US Strike Killed Afghan Women, Children

Many civilians were killed in two Afghan villages hit by a US airstrike on Monday, the Red Cross said today, confirming both "dozens of bodies" and allegations coming from Kabul. “There were bodies, there were graves, and there were people burying bodies,” a spokeswoman said. “We do confirm women and children.” One former government official told the AP up to 120 died in the bombing.

The US has dispatched a brigadier general to the province to investigate alongside Afghan military and police. Hamid Karzai promised to discuss the deaths when he meets with President Obama today, calling them “unacceptable.” Karzai has long pleaded with the US to limit civilian deaths, but the US says Taliban militants operate from civilian homes. (More Red Cross stories.)