KABUL: An end to air strikes in Afghanistan, demanded by President Hamid Karzai after scores of civilians were allegedly killed this week, would deprive Afghan troops of vital protection, a US official said Friday."Airstrikes are not acceptable," Karzai told U.S. TV on Friday during a visit to Washington, adding that his government's information was that nearly 125 to 130 civilians were killed, including women and children, in this week's strikes.The US military in Kabul was expected on Saturday to release the results of its investigation with the Afghan defence and interior ministries into the incident in the western province of Farah overnight Monday into Tuesday. The official told however they believed a figure of more than 100 people killed was "exaggerated". The air strikes in Farah were called in at the request of Afghan officials who were under attack from Taliban fighters, he said."This was not a night raid, this was not a scheduled operation, we came to their assistance," the official said on condition of anonymity. "We were supporting our Afghan partners." With an end to protection from air power, "more of the well-trained Afghan National Security Forces are going to be put in harm's way with very little assistance". There has been no admission from the US military that it killed civilians in the strikes, which locals said destroyed several houses in two villages in the Bala Buluk district where insurgents have a strong presence. A report in the US media, citing Pentagon officials, said US forces dropped about 13 bombs on eight different buildings" from which, troops were taking fire.
BAGHDAD: Nearly 500 U.S. Army combat engineers who specialize in clearing roads of explosives started shifting to southern Afghanistan."We are probably going to be the beginning of the influx you are going to see to Afghanistan," Lt. Col. Kevin Landers, commander of the Fort Carson, Colo.-based 4th Engineer Battalion, said as crews packed crates and cleaned vehicles for the flight to Kandahar.Obama has ordered 17,000 more U.S. soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan to bolster the 38,000 American troops already battling the resurgent Taliban."We are going to take this footprint out of Iraq," said Landers, whose battalion received word of its reassignment last month just after taking command of clearing roads in Baghdad of bombs and debris.
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