"We deeply, deeply regreat that loss --"
-- Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State says in an official apology for U.S. air strike killing over 120 innocent civilians.
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US secretary of state Hillary Clinton |
The United States has now apologised for U.S. airstrikes that killed over 100 innocent Afghan civilians.
Civilian casualties are a source of strain between Washington and Kabul at a time of rising protest by some followers of the Taliban.
The Red Cross officials reported seening dozens of Afghan civilians killed in the U.S. air strikes in Farah province - local officials put the death toll at over 120.
This makes it the single deadliest civilian incident since ...
...the campaign to topple the Taliban resistance began in 2001.Mr Karzai thanked Mrs Clinton for expressing concern and regret, saying he hoped all civilian casualties could be prevented.
Speaking after meeting the Afghan and Pakistan leaders, President Obama said the nations share a common goal of dismantling, disrupting and defeating Al Qaeda and its extreme allies.
Mr Obama also said the U.S. would make "every effort" in the future to avoid civilian casualties in Afghanistan, following the fatal airstrikes.
At the summit, the Afghan president signed an agreement with the Pakistan president to try to increase commerce and foreign investment in the two countries.
The Pakistan president, who has been under fierce criticism for his response to Taliban gains in the Swat and Buner valleys this year, also spoke warmly towards Mr Karzai.
Mr Zardari said: "Pakistani democracy will deliver, the terrorists will be delivered by our joint struggle.
"Me, my friend, President Karzai and the United States ... will stand shoulder to shoulder with the world to fight this cancer and this threat."
Civilians Looked Like Human Shields
They said they believed guerrillas had used civilians as shields in houses that were then struck by US-led coalition warplanes.
"The fighting was going on in another village, but the Taliban escaped to these two villages, where they used people as human shields," he said.
"The air strikes killed about 120 civilians and destroyed 17 houses," he said, adding the toll was imprecise.
Jessica Barry, spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said the Geneva-based group had also sent a team to the scene of the air strikes.
"There were women and there were children who were killed. It seemed they were trying to shelter in houses when they were hit," she said.
The team saw houses destroyed and dozens of bodies, providing the first international confirmation of the incident.
President Obama is meeting Mr Zardari and Mr Karzai at the White House as part of the Washington summit