The U.S.-led coalition said Saturday that it would investigate allegations of civilian deaths during a battle in western Afghanistan. Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior says that 76 civilians were killed in strikes in the Shindand district of Herat province. U.S. coalition officials say that Thursday's strikes killed 30 militants, including a Taliban leader. On Saturday, President Hamid Karzai condemned the U.S. operation and said it hadn't been coordinated with local security officials in Azizabad village. Karzai said in a statement that «at least 70 innocent civilians, most of them women and children» were killed. However, American officials say U.S. and Afghan soldiers investigated the site of the bombing afterward and know the exact number of militants killed. «Obviously there's allegations and a disconnect here. The sooner we can get that cleared up and get it official, the better off we'll all be,» said U.S. coalition spokesman 1st Lt. Nathan Perry. «We had people on the ground.»
