Kunar raid being assessed: Dunford

KABUL on Thursday President Hamid Karzai to provide his insights into a joint operation that was conducted a day earlier in eastern Kunar province.

Five children, four women, a man and three insurgent commanders were killed in the coalition air raid on a militant hideout in Shigal district. President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday condemned the civilians and ordered a probe into the strike.

At his meeting with the president, ISAF Commander Gen. Joseph F. Dunford expressed his personal condolences for any civilians who might have died or been injured as a result of the operation.

A statement from the NATO-led force quoted the commander as saying that the Coalition took allegations of civilian casualties seriously. “We are conducting an assessment of the circumstances surrounding this incident.”

Gen. Dunford promised sharing the results of the assessment, when completed, with President Karzai. Coalition officials will meet village elders as well as families of the victims to personally express their condolences.

“Because we understand that protecting Afghan civilians is the cornerstone of our mission in Afghanistan, Gen. Dunford reaffirmed the coalition’s commitment to taking every step possible to ensure that we conduct our operations in a way that further reduces the number of civilian casualties,” the statement added.

pr/mud