NATO has acknowledged responsibility for killing 12 Afghan civilians during a major U.S.-led offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.
NATO says the civilians were killed when two rockets fired at insurgents missed their intended target. Afghan President Hamid Karzai expressed sadness at the incident. He has ordered an investigation into the deaths in the Nad Ali district.
The large-scale military operation began early Saturday, concentrated on the farming community of Marjah in southern Helmand province.
Some 15,000 U.S., British and Afghan soldiers are involved in the offensive, designed to oust the Taliban from an area that has been an insurgent stronghold.
Afghan officials said Sunday that at least 27 insurgents have been killed during the fighting. NATO says one American and one British soldier were killed on the first day of the offensive.
During an interview Sunday on CNN, U.S. National Security Advisor James Jones described the operation as going well.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP.
