US forces kill 13 Afghan civilians in air strike

US forces in Afghanistan killed 13 civilians, as well as three militants, in an air strike in western Afghanistan this week.

The mistaken killing of civilians by foreign forces is a major source of tension between the Afghan government and its Western backers and has also caused a steady drop in public support for the presence of some 70,000 international troops.

US forces first said Monday's air strike in the Gozara district of Herat province killed up to 15 militants in a strike targeting a wanted insurgent commander.

But video footage and photographs obtained by Reuters from the site clearly showed at least one young boy had been killed in the bombing which struck an encampment of nomad tents. Little was left of the other bodies, except mounds of flesh.

US Brigadier General Michael Ryan traveled to the site of the bombing to lead an inquiry. Though weapons and ammunition were found, investigators concluded only three of the dead were militants and the other 13 were civilians.

"We expressed our deepest condolences to the survivors of the non-combatants who were killed during this operation," a US military statement quoted Ryan as saying at the site.

"Our inquiry in Herat demonstrates how seriously we take our responsibility in conducting operations against militant targets and the occurrence of non-combatant casualties," he said.

More than 2,100 civilians were killed in Afghanistan last year, 40 percent more than 2007, the United Nations said this week. A quarter of all civilian casualties, 552 people, died as a result of air strikes by U.S. and NATO-led forces, it said.

US President Barack Obama this week ordered 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan to try to tip the balance in a war that U.S. officials admit they are not winning.

The commander of international troops in Afghanistan said it would be a "tough year" in Afghanistan, even with the extra troops. Officers predict more clashes as troops move into new areas and more civilians could be caught up in the conflict.

Under pressure from a steady stream of public criticism from Afghan President Hamid Karzai, U.S. and NATO forces agreed to cooperate more closely with Afghan forces and share more intelligence to cut the number of civilians killed.

- Reuters