A NATO air attack in eastern Afghanistan has killed 11 children, officials said today, the latest case of civilian casualties which provoke great anger in the war-torn country. The children were killed during a joint Afghan-NATO operation in the Shigal district of restive Kunar province bordering Pakistan yesterday. An Afghan official involved in the operation who did not want to be named said air support was called in after local and coalition forces came under attack, resulting in the death of an American and injuries to several Afghan soldiers. The official said the force did not know there were women and children in the houses that were hit. Civilian casualties caused by NATO forces have been one of the most contentious issues in the 11-year campaign against Taliban insurgents, provoking harsh criticism from Afghan President Hamid Karzai and angry public protests. The president “strongly condemned the ISAF air strike in Kunar that killed 11 children,” in a statement issued by his office. “The president, while condemning the use of civilians as shields by the Taliban, denounced any kind of operations that cause civilian deaths,” the statement said. Local officials including Shigal district governor Abdul Zahir had earlier given a death toll of 10 children killed and six women wounded, while Sayed Rahman, security commander of Shigal, said one woman was also among the dead. A spokesman for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed the strike and said the coalition was gathering information to determine what happened.
