25 Afghan civilians reported killed in NATO airstrikes

By M. Karim Faiez and Laura King
LA Times

9:58 AM PDT, June 22, 2007

KABUL, Afghanistan — NATO forces said today they were investigating reports that 25 Afghan civilians were killed in overnight airstrikes in southern Afghanistan.

The mounting civilian casualty toll in Afghanistan is dangerously eroding public support for the Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai.

After the report of the latest deaths, Karzai told the BBC that accidental killings and injuries of civilians at the hands of coalition forces are "difficult for us to accept or understand."

The Afghan leader has repeatedly appealed to international forces to exercise greater caution during clashes in civilian areas. NATO has blamed the Taliban for intentionally using civilians as shields.

It was the second report this week of multiple civilian casualties in airstrikes aimed at insurgents. On Monday, seven children ages 10 to 16 were killed when U.S. forces bombed a compound that they said militants were using as a hide-out.

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