Karzai denies US 'cover-up' in Afghan airstrike

Afghan president Hamid Karzai has dismissed allegations that the United States tried to cover up a deadly airstrike and said a continued American presence was crucial to Afghanistan’s future.

Flanked by US special forces bodyguards, Karzai said that he visited one of the villages attacked in the July 1 air raid, and when asked if he believed there had been a cover-up said: ‘‘I don’t think so. People would have told me.’’

Karzai said the air attack in Uruzgan province killed 46 civilians and wounded 117, many of them celebrating at a wedding party. The attack was investigated by the United States and by a separate United Nations fact-finding group. Previously, Afghan officials put the death toll at 48.

A UN report has not been publicly released, but it was reported earlier this week that the initial draft concluded American forces might have removed evidence after the attack and violated human rights. US officials denied the allegations.

‘‘The UN report was not correct,’’ Karzai said as he arrived for a meeting with Kandahar governor Gul Agha Sherzai. ‘‘Lots of people had much misinformation. The second report, the official report, will be much more accurate.’’

Karzai, who visited the area on Thursday, described the US raid as ‘‘unfortunate’’ but said villagers were still tolerant of US military presence. He said the United States has offered to pay dlrs 2 million (€2.031m) for reconstruction.

‘‘We should concentrate on leaving the sad days behind us,’’ he said. ‘‘I have assurances that something like this will not happen again, but in the pursuit of a task, people always make mistakes and people must understand that.’’

Karzai said the initial UN report was ‘‘written immediately’’ and anyone who would have gone to the village after the attack would have been ‘‘angered’’.

He denied allegations said to be in the UN report that US special forces removed evidence and handcuffed female villagers.

‘‘The US military presence is needed for Afghanistan’s security,’’ he said.

Karzai was accompanied by Mullah Mohammed Anwar, who lost his brother and 12 other family members in the US raid. Anwar said he wasn’t there during the attack but said villagers told him that a bright floodlight used for the wedding festivities apparently drew the US forces.

‘‘There is tension,’’ Anwar said. ‘‘Before the people welcomed the Americans for security and stability but now they are scared.’’

Asked if the Americans handcuffed women, he replied: ‘‘Yes, villagers told me that the men did this.’’

The airstrike fed a wave of resentment among Afghans over the US military presence and sparked the first protests in Kabul since the fall of the Taliban. Karzai, whose presidency is beset by tensions among competing factions in his government, would be weakened by appearing subservient to the United States.

But he also is unlikely to risk harsh criticism of American forces, which are hunting Taliban and al-Qaida fighters. He relies heavily on American political support to stay in power.