Afghan president condemns deadly US operation
Afghan president Hamid Karzai condemns deadly US operation
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Sunday, 25, Jan 2009 12:03
Afghan president Hamid Karzai has condemned a US operation that is said to have killed 16 civilians.
Yesterday, the US military announced that a raid in Laghman province had killed 15 armed militants but the Afghan government says all the casualties were local citizens.
Mr Karzai criticised the operation and warned that the deaths of civilians would work towards "strengthening the terrorists".
He added that the country's ministry of defence had sent a document to Washington and NATO headquarters regarding the nature of US operations. Media reports suggest that the draft technical agreement calls for Afghan oversight of foreign operations in the country.
A spokesman for the US military said a joint investigation with the Afghan government would be launched into the operation in Laghman province.
US and NATO forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to oust the Taliban from power. The US has announced a surge of 30,000 troops to Afghanistan over the coming year in order to improve security in the country.