Six children killed during assault by US forces

SIX children were crushed to death by a collapsing wall during an assault by US forces on a weapons compound in eastern Afghanistan, an American military spokesman said yesterday.

It is the second time in a week that children have been killed in US action against Taliban and al-Qaida suspects.

Both incidents occurred in Pashtun-dominated areas, risking further alienation among the country’s largest ethnic group from which the Islamic militant Taliban emerged. The areas already have been a focus of insurgent attacks on coalition and government targets, and international aid workers.