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.’’