NPR : Karzai Accuses U.S. Troops of Carelessness

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Karzai Accuses U.S. Troops of Carelessness

Weekend Edition Saturday, June 23, 2007 · Afghan President Hamid Karzai Saturday said "careless operations" by U.S. and NATO troops had killed more than 90 civilians in the last 10 days.

NATO and U.S.-led forces have been battling in southern and eastern Afghanistan with insurgents. In what's described by the U.S. military as the largest insurgent formation crossing the region in six months, coalition forces killed 60 insurgents near the border with Pakistan Saturday.

Pakistan's army said a rocket fired during the battle hit a house on its territory, killing nine civilians. It denied any insurgents had crossed the frontier.

Karzai did not comment on the border battle, but called for foreign troops to improve coordination with Afghan forces.

"We do not want any more military operations without coordinating them with the Afghan government," Karzai said.

"From now onwards, they have to work the way we ask them to work in here," he added.

Extra troops have been deployed on both sides of the mountainous frontier in an attempt to prevent militants who find sanctuary in Pakistan's wild tribal regions from mounting crossborder raids and sustaining the five-year-old war.

Associated Press contributed to this report.

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