July 18, 2008	Friday	Rajab 14, 1429

KABUL, July 17: US-led coalition troops killed eight Afghan civilians in an air strike in the western province of Farah during a Tuesday raid against suspected militants, the US military said.

The acknowledgement came as reports of more civilian deaths caused by a fresh air raid by foreign forces emerged on Thursday from the neighbouring province of Herat.

Tuesday’s air strike was summoned after a coalition convoy came under sustained attack from machine gun and indirect fire from a number of houses adjacent to a road in the Bakwa district of Farah, the US military said.

“The coalition convoy returned fire and called for close air support on the enemy positions. A house was hit; eight civilians were killed, two others injured,” it said in a statement late on Wednesday.

“Coalition forces never intentionally target non-combatants, and deeply regret any occurrence such as this where civilians are killed and injured as a result of insurgent activity and actions,” it said.

Afghan officials said nine people, members of the same family, were killed in Tuesday’s bombing.

In Thursday’s raid, at least four men were killed, a spokesman for the regional police command said. Witnesses said 17 people were also wounded and taken to hospital.

The US military said the raid was against “high priority Taliban targets” in Herat, adding two “Taliban leaders” and “significant number of other insurgents were also killed”.

In a statement, it said, there was no evidence of civilian casualties.

The issue of civilian casualties is highly sensitive one for the Western-backed government and undermines Afghan support for the presence of foreign forces who are fighting the Taliban-led insurgents in Afghanistan.

The US military says it is investigating reports by Afghan officials that around 60 civilians were killed in two separate air strikes by US-led coalition forces this month in eastern Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, President Hamid Karzai flew on Thursday to a remote village to commiserate with families of 47 civilians killed when US-led coalition air strikes hit a wedding party, his office said.

The president flew to Deh Bala by helicopter and met more than 100 tribal elders, it said. “I have not come here today to make political speeches, I have come to share your grief,” he said.—Agencies