NATO air strike kills 33 civilians in Afghanistan

A NATO airstrike in Afghanistan killed as many as 33 civilians, triggering a government protest over noncombatant deaths that undermine a stepped-up offensive to defeat Taliban insurgents.

Early reports of the "unjustifiable" attack on three minibuses in central Uruzgan province cited the deaths of almost three dozen people, including four women and a child, Afghanistan's Council of Ministers said in a statement. Twelve people were hurt in the attack on a convoy traveling to the southern province of Kandahar, it said.

Interior Ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said at least 21 people died.

"We are extremely saddened by the tragic loss of innocent lives," U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander in Afghanistan, said in a statement. "I have made it clear to our forces that we are here to protect the Afghan people, and inadvertently killing or injuring civilians undermines their trust and confidence in our mission."

The incident comes as an offensive by 15,000 Afghan and NATO troops in neighboring Helmand province is seeking to wipe out a Taliban stronghold.

The latest civilian deaths may be the worst since a Sept. 4 airstrike in the northern province of Kunduz killed as many as 142 people, including civilians.

NATO said aircraft fired yesterday on suspected militants in Uruzgan believed to be preparing to attack a unit of Afghan and international troops, "resulting in a number of individuals killed and wounded," NATO's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.

Women and children were later found at the scene, and the wounded were taken for medical treatment, it said.

Afghan ministers have urged NATO forces to avoid civilian casualties "considered to be a major obstacle for an effective counterterrorism effort." Bashary told The Associated Press the minibuses had been carrying 42 civilians when they were attacked driving down a major road in the province.