Karzai condemns NATO killing of Afghan children

President Hamid Karzai has condemned a NATO helicopter strike that claimed the lives of two children in central Afghanistan.

On Thursday, two Afghan boys, both aged under seven, were shot dead in the central province of Uruzgan. They had been collecting firewood and tending livestock in the area.

“The government has repeatedly stressed that the war on terrorism cannot succeed in Afghan villages and homes, but rather in its sanctuaries and safe havens outside our borders,” Karzai said on Sunday.

The Afghan president once again called for an end to civilian deaths caused by foreign forces in the war-torn country.

Although Uruzgan governor Amir Mohammad Akhundzada initially said Australian soldiers were behind the deaths, his spokesman Abdullah Hemat on Sunday said it was not clear whether the children were killed by “Australians or Americans.”

Australian military chief General David Hurley said he deeply regretted the deaths but added that it was not yet clear who was responsible.

This comes while on Saturday International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said Australian soldiers were responsible for the killings.

A spokesman for foreign forces in Afghanistan said that the children had been mistaken for Taliban militants.

Many civilians have lost their lives in US-led operations in various parts of Afghanistan over the past months, and thus Afghans are becoming increasingly outraged at the seemingly endless number of the deadly assaults.

The issue of civilian casualties in Afghanistan is highly sensitive and has been a major source of friction between President Hamid Karzai and the United States.

Washington claims that its airstrikes target militants, but local sources say civilians have been the main victims of the attacks.