Two stray NATO rockets have killed 12 civilians on the second day of a major offensive against Taliban insurgents in the southern city of Marjah. An unknown number of civilians were injured.
US General Stanley McChrystal, who commands the joint force of US, British and Afghan soldiers, has offered his apologies to Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Ahead of the offensive, the president had urged military commanders to avoid civilian casualties in Marjah.
The joint force is penetrating deeper and deeper into the city. In house-to-house searches, the soldiers are discovering numerous booby traps bombs and mines. NATO says that the operation against the Taliban in the province of Helmand, the largest such operation since 2001, is proceeding according to plan.
British soldiers in Helmand province
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