NATO air strike in Afghanistan kills 8 including 6 children

In the eastern province of Paktia local officials claim a NATO air strike killed eight members of one family including 6 children plus husband and wife. The strike happened last Saturday in a small village in the province.

As usual NATO says it is investigating the reports. A spokesperson for the province said::"It was an air strike conducted by Nato."This man [the father] had no connection to the Taliban or any other terrorist group."

NATO did confirm that it was conducting an operation in the area that night. Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings said that the operation was "against a large number of insurgents" on Saturday night. He also acknowledged reports of civilian deaths and that they were being investigated. The area is the ancestral home base of the Haqqani group which has links to the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Karzai had warned earlier in May that civilian casualties in air attacks could derail the recently signed partnership agreement. This is probably just rhetoric for domestic consumption. For more see this article.