60 Afghan children die in air strike

Sixty children were among those killed in air strikes led by US-led coalition warplanes in western Afghanistan last week, a UN investigation has concluded. Around 90 civilians lost their lives in what is likely to be the worst incident involving civilians since 2001. Investigators from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama) said they had discovered "convincing evidence" of the deaths.

The huge child death toll particularly is likely to push relations between the Afghan government and the Nato-led coalition forces - already under severe strain over civilian casualties - to the brink. President Hamid Karzai has ordered that any military operation by foreign forces on its territory will be subject to a new set of rules enforceable under international law.

"The patience of the Afghan people has run out. We no longer can afford to see the killing of our children," said Humayun Hamidzada, a spokesman for the Afghan president.

Kai Eide, the UN special envoy to Afghanistan who ordered the investigation, found that up to eight houses in the village of Nawabad had been destroyed in the raids and many others damaged.

"Investigations by Unama found convincing evidence, based on the testimony of eyewitnesses, and others, that some 90 civilians were killed, including 60 children, 15 women and 15 men," he wrote in his report. "Fifteen other villagers were wounded or otherwise injured."

"This is matter of grave concern to the United Nations, I have repeatedly made clear that the safety and welfare of civilians must be considered above all else during the planning and conduct of all military operations. The impact of such operations undermines the trust and confidence of the Afghan people in efforts to build a just, peaceful, and law-abiding state."