NATO Plans Inquiry Into Afghan Strike that Killed 80 or More

A NATO airstrike in northern Afghanistan that killed 80 or more people, some of them civilians, before dawn Friday will receive a full investigation. NATO insists that the strike targeted Taliban militants, but Afghan officials expressed outrage over the civilian deaths. The tragedy came just three months after U.S. General Stanley McChrystal, the head NATO commander in the country, tightened rules governing airstrikes because he felt they were stirring up Afghan hostility and undermining U.S. efforts. It remains unclear whether Friday morning's strike met the new conditions.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that he was "deeply saddened" and that he had sent a delegation to investigate. "Targeting civilian men and women is not acceptable." The strike was aimed at two hijacked fuel tankers in the village of Omar Kheil, and everyone near the trucks was blown to bits. Others died from severe burns. German officials were first to call in the attack, and Afghan officials reported that civilians had been siphoning fuel when the bombs hit.

For details: NATO Plans Inquiry After Afghan Strike Kills Scores [New York Times]