U.S. Marines conduct a security patrol in the abandoned village of Now Zad in Helmand province, Afghanistan, April 6, 2009. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. James A. BurksFrom Yahoo News/Reuters:
KHOST, Afghanistan (Reuters) – The U.S. military has conceded that a raid this week by troops under its command in Afghanistan killed a group of civilians who were defending their home, not militants as it had earlier reported.
The killing of civilians by foreign forces is the biggest source of tension between the Afghan government and its Western backers. While NATO has tightened its procedures, the latest incident shows the problem is far from solved.
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My Comment: There will always be civilian casualties in war. What has been most troubling in Afghanistan is the now use of human shields by the Taliban when confronting U.S. Allied forces. This will unfortunately continue until the Afghan Army has the capacity to replace U.S./Allied forces .... and they are the ones who are confronting Taliban forces and their supporters.