Kabul - US Defence Secretary Roberts Gates apologized for civilian casualties caused by his country troops in Afghanistan on Thursday, but blamed the Taliban for using civilians as human shields. Gates' comments came as Afghan and US military officials were investigating allegations that more than 100 civilians were killed in a US military airstrike in Bala Boluk district of western Farah province.
"We regret any, even one, Afghan civilian casualty ... innocent civilian casualty," Gates told a press conference in Kabul on Thursday.
"I believe in many instances the Taliban use civilians as shield," he said, adding that the Afghan people "need to recognize that exploiting civilian casualties and causing civilian casualties are parts of fundamental Taliban strategy and it is measure of ruthlessness with which they fight."
The US defence chief said that mounting civilian deaths could "pose a risk" to efforts of international military forces that have been trying to bring peace and reconstruction to the war-torn country.
"What is critical for the success of the Afghan government and for us as the governments and Afghan people's partners is that the Afghan people believe that we are in their sides, that we are here to help them," he said, adding, "we are here to protect them not to hurt them."
On Thursday morning, hundreds of people gathered in the main mosque in Farah, the capital of the province of the same name, chanting slogans against the US forces in the country and Afghan government.
The protesters claimed that more than 100 civilians lost their lives in the air raid in the district. If confirmed, it would be the deadliest incident involving civilian fatalities since the ouster of the Taliban regime in late 2001.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Tuesda
