The US commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan has apologised over the deaths of civilians in an air strike this week, flying personally to the scene to deliver his condolences. President Hamid Karzai had expressed outrage over the incident in which Afghan officials said 18 civilians including women and children were killed, and cut short a visit to Beijing to return home.
NATO commander General John Allen flew to Logar province “to see local leaders and the population to apologise and offer condolences to the families”, spokesman Brigadier General Carsten Jacobson told AFP. This was the first public acknowledgement by NATO that civilians died in the air strike on a home in the province in the early hours of Wednesday.
