ISAF probes civilian deaths in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan, March 16 (UPI) -- International forces in Afghanistan can't overstate how serious they take reports of civilian casualties, a military leader said during reports of child deaths.

The International Security Assistance Force opened an investigation into an operation in Kunar province that may have left two Afghan children dead Monday.

ISAF and Afghan officials are said to have reviewed combat footage taken from the air and stated that air assault teams may have unintentionally engaged civilians.

"I cannot overstate how seriously we take all instances of civilian casualties," said U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, ISAF commander, in a statement. "I take personal interest in every case and have recently ordered a review of our tactical directive on the use of force by all aircrews of attack helicopters."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai expressed outrage over reports that nine people were killed by international forces in an attack March 1. All of the victims were children, the Afghan president said.

Petraeus was forced to personally apologize to Karzai over the March 1 incident. The United Nations said a review of the March 1 incident was needed to ensure ISAF was taking necessary precautions to prevent children from becoming casualties of war.