Gates apologizes for deadly Afghan strike

KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, visiting Afghanistan Wednesday, apologized for the deaths of Afghan citizens from recent U.S. and allied airstrikes.

While offering "sincere condolences and personal regrets," Gates pledged that U.S. and NATO forces would work harder to prevent the loss of civilian lives, The New York Times reported.

"While no military has ever done more to prevent civilian casualties, it is clear that we have to work even harder," Gates said after his meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

The U.S. military has been criticized for a recent air strike in which more than 90 civilians may been killed, the Times reported.

During a news conference at the U.S. Embassy, Gates promised to do "everything in our power to find new and better ways" to target "common enemies of the United States and Afghanistan."

Gates said he agreed with the recommendation by senior U.S. commander U.S. Army Gen. David McKiernan for three more combat brigades, in addition to the battalion and brigade that U.S. President George Bush ordered deployed by early 2009.

The U.S.-led coalition, meanwhile, said four coalition troops and one Afghan national were killed Wednesday by a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan.