US admits to killing Afghan civilians

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Witnesses to these killings in Helmand province, however, said that they were caused by an air raid; they said that no Taliban fighters were in evidence. Villagers said about 40 people were killed.

NATO, which is also in Afghanistan, denied any knowledge of the raid. The US-led coalition said it would investigate.

On Friday, the coalition made a statement: "There are confirmed reports of civilian casualties; however, it is unknown at this time how many..."

The statement said that the coalition had treated up to 20 villagers who were wounded during a 16-hour battle that also included Afghan army troops in the Sangin district of Helmand province on Tuesday. One boy died of his wounds after being evacuated by coalition troops.

Afghan and coalition forces have estimated that "a significant number of Taliban fighters, including a high-ranking commander, were killed in the battle." But Assadullah Wafa, the provincial governor, declared he had no news of Taliban deaths.

Prior to the latest casualties, "scores of civilians have been killed by Western forces in the past two weeks."

Afghans are angry over these civilian deaths, and Sangin's residents have asked Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, to come and see their suffering for himself. Karzai has repeatedly asked foreign troops to stop killing civilians, to stop searching people's homes and to coordinate attacks with his government.

Last week, Karzai said that the patience of the Afghan people was running out.

"On Tuesday, a US military commander apologized for the deaths of 19 civilians, killed by US troops in eastern Afghanistan in March."

With mounting civilian deaths, an apology does not seem adequate. The United States needs to rethink the war in Afghanistan. Will troops take steps to avoid more civilian casualties? Civilian deaths are not acceptable.