US defence chief expresses "deep regret" for Afghan civilian deaths

Kabul - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates expressed 'deep regret' Wednesday for the recent civilian deaths caused in US air raids and vowed to take 'new measures' to diminish the toll, the Afghan presidential palace said. Gates arrived in Kabul late Tuesday on a surprise visit to meet with Afghan officials and US-led coalition commanders to discuss new ways of battling the Taliban, which has stepped up its insurgency in the country. In a meeting with President Hamid Karzai, Gates expressed his 'deep regret for the loss of civilian lives in Shindand district of Herat province and said he was hopeful that with taking new measures, the civilian casualties during the coalition operations would be diminished,' Karzai's office said in a statement. More than 90 civilians, mostly children, were killed August 22 in a US military airstrike in the village of Azizabad in the western province, according to Afghan government and UN investigative teams. The US military initially said up to seven civilians and 30 to 35 militants were killed in the attack, but the United States later announced it would send a US general to Afghanistan to reinvestigate the strike after video emerged that showed the bodies of civilians, including at least 10 children. Civilian casualties during international military operations against the Taliban have become a great concern for Karzai, who believes the mounting civilian deaths would erode public support for his government. The United Nations said Tuesday that 1,445 civilians were killed in the first eight months of this year, an increase of 39 per cent from the same period of 2007. The presidential palace also said Karzai reiterated his government's stance in his meeting with Gates that civilian casualties, unilateral searches of houses and unnecessary arrests of Afghans by allied forces must be stopped. Gates also met with his Afghan counterpart, Abdul Rahim Wardak, and other senior Afghan officials and pledged to boost the training and equipping of Afghan security forces, the statement said. Both army chiefs insisted that more coordination between coalition and Afghan forces would improve their fight against the Taliban and its associates and would reduce civilians casualties, the statement said.