Karzai orders investigation into air strike deaths

A LOCAL investigation into air strikes that slammed into Afghan homes where Taliban fighters sought shelter found that 62 insurgents and 45 civilians were killed, two Afghan officials said yesterday.

A suicide attack in the same region killed a NATO soldier, officials said. President Hamid Karzai ordered a six-man team to conduct a more thorough investigation into the dozens of deaths in Helmand province, said Sher Mohammad Akhanzada, a member of parliament from the province.

NATO, which has admitted some civilians were killed in the battle late on Friday but says that the number is far fewer than 45, welcomed Mr Karzai’s order.