Kabul: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Monday that NATO troops had fired a rocket that killed 52
"innocent" villagers in southern Afghanistan, as leaked
documents laid bare the civilian toll of the US-led war.
An investigation by the National Directorate of Security
found that a house in Helmand province`s Sangin district was
hit on Friday "by a rocket launched by NATO/ISAF troops,
leaving 52 civilians dead, including women and children,"
a statement from Karzai`s office said.
"The president condoled via phone with the mourning
families and called on NATO troops to put into practice every
possible measure to avoid harming civilians during military
operations," it said.
Karzai`s statement came three days after Friday`s attack
on Regey village, and followed repeated denials by officials
of NATO`s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) that
their forces were involved in the incident.
The statement said Karzai was "deeply saddened by the
heartbreaking incident, which is both morally and humanly
unacceptable".
"The president and cabinet of the Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan condemned on Monday in the strongest possible
terms the rocket attack on a village in Helmand province that
killed up to 52 innocent civilians," it said.
PTI
