9 Children Killed in US Attack: Karzai

A US artillery attack killed nine children and injured a tenth yesterday in Kunar province, Afghan officials declared today. The kids, ages 8 to 14, were reportedly out gathering firewood when rocket fire hit a nearby outpost. The base’s defenders say they responded with “indirect and aerial fire,” which typically means field artillery, according to the LA Times. The incident comes just a week after a strike in the same province that Afghan officials say killed 65 civilians.

Hamid Karzai, speaking in London, condemned yesterday’s “ruthless attack” in “the strongest possible terms,” and wondered aloud if the West could succeed in the country if such civilian deaths continued. The military promised to investigate “quickly and thoroughly.” (More Afghanistan war stories.)