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NATO commander makes televised apology to Afghans

23 February 2010 18:52 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan went on national television Tuesday to apologize for a deadly airstrike, an extraordinary attempt to regain Afghans’ trust while a mass offensive continues against the Taliban in the south, APA reports citing â€œAssociated Press.â€

Two U.S. Marine battalions, accompanied by Afghan troops, pushing from the north and south of the insurgent stronghold of Marjah finally linked up after more than a week, creating a direct route across the town that allows convoys to supply ammunition and reinforcements.

In a video translated into the Afghan languages of Dari and Pashto and broadcast on Afghan television, a stern Gen. Stanley McChrystal apologized for the strike in central Uruzgan province that Afghan officials say killed at least 21 people. The video was also posted on a NATO Web site.

"I pledge to strengthen our efforts to regain your trust to build a brighter future for all Afghans," McChrystal said in the video. "I have instituted a thorough investigation to prevent this from happening again."

The civilian deaths occurred as 15,000 NATO, U.S. and Afghan soldiers were in their 10th day of fighting insurgents in the town in Helmand province. A Romanian soldier was killed Tuesday and another was wounded in a bombing in southern Afghanistan unrelated to the offensive, Romanian officials said.

At least 919 U.S. service members have died in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001, according to an Associated Press count. The figure does not include Americans based in other countries in support of the Afghan mission who did not die as a result of combat.