KABUL — US General David Petraeus, the commander of international forces in Afghanistan, apologized Wednesday for the deaths of nine Afghan civilians in an air strike.
The statement came after Afghan president Hamid Karzai and local police said that nine young children were killed by the air strike Tuesday as they collected firewood, AFP reported.
“We are deeply sorry for this tragedy and apologize to the members of the Afghan government, the people of Afghanistan and most importantly, the surviving family members of those killed by our actions,” Petraeus said in a statement on the website of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
“These deaths should have never happened and I will personally apologize to president Karzai when he returns from his trip to London this week,” he added.
The statement said the deaths were accidental, and appeared to be the result of a miscommunication. It did not specify the ages of the civilians.
Petraeus added: “This event is particularly distressing given the recent direction I gave to commanders to review our tactical directive that is intended to reduce civilian casualties to the absolute minimum. Regardless of the outcome of this investigation, I have ordered all ISAF leaders and members of ISAF attack helicopter crews to be re-briefed on the tactical directive, reinforcing the need to be sure we protect the lives of innocent Afghans as we pursue a ruthless enemy.”
Civilian casualties during international military operations against insurgents are a key cause of friction between the Kabul government and its Western supporters, AFP reported.
Earlier Wednesday, Karzai had angrily criticized foreign forces, saying they would face “huge problems” if the “daily killing of innocent civilians” did not stop.