NATO Vows To Retrain Troops After Afghan Deaths

Afghan President Hamid Karzai (file photo)

Afghan President Hamid Karzai says the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan has promised to retrain his troops following recent deaths of Afghan civilians during military operations.

A statement from the Afghan president's office says Karzai received a letter from U.S. General John Allen acknowledging the deaths of civilians in the past week and saying he had ordered the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to retrain its troops to avoid civilian casualties when targeting insurgents.

On November 23, six children and an adult were killed in a NATO air strike in Zhari district in southern Kandahar Province.

Allen said then that the incident occurred when coalition forces were responding to attacks by insurgents.

compiled from agency reports