Afghans say NATO air strike kills 12 children

An air strike called in by NATO-led troops in southern Afghanistan killed 12 children and two women, Afghan officials said on Sunday, one of the worst civilian death tolls by foreign forces in months.

The mistaken killing of civilians by foreign troops, usually during air strikes or night raids, is a major source of friction between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Western backers, and complicates efforts to win support from ordinary Afghans for an increasingly unpopular war. (Reuters)