Afghan raid tests US pledges

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There are reports the Kunduz strike was called in on the word of just one spy on the ground By David Loyn BBC News, Kabul

The new US strategy for Afghanistan that puts the protection of civilians at its centre is facing its first major test after the killing of several dozen civilians by a Nato air raid last Friday morning.

The strike was directed at two fuel tankers that had been hijacked by the Taliban in Kunduz, in the far north-east of the county.

But it also killed local people who had gathered after the insurgents ordered them to help move one of the vehicles that was stuck in mud.

An independent research group, Afghanistan Rights Monitor, calculated that between 60 and 70 people were killed, many of them children of families who had come to siphon fuel from the stranded tankers.

Public relations war

The response to the attack has been swift and public on all sides, culminating in Monday's Taliban statement appealing for help from international human rights bodies and the UN to prevent a repeat of such incidents.

The US commander in Afghanistan is trying to limit fallout from the raid

This is a turnaround from the usual Taliban stance of isolation from the international community, and comes from their sense that they can extract maximum publicity advantage from the situation.

In a pre-emptive publicity strike ahead of the Taliban statement, the overall commander of US forces in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal, went on Afghan TV to address the "great people of Afghanistan" and acknowledge the seriousness of the attack.

He has emphasised the need to prevent civilian casualties and began his statement with the customary Islamic greeting - "Salaam alekum" - promising a swift investigation.

Then in another break with the normal secrecy surrounding such investigations, a reporter from the Washington Post travelled with the team sent north to interview German soldiers who had called in the air strike.

He reported that German officers said the air strike was called in on the word of only one spy on the ground.

If true, this would be against new rules of engagement designed to ensure bombs are dropped only if there is clear information from more than one source that only Taliban fighters will be hit.

Nato-caused civilian casualties boost support for the Taliban

German forces in the north have already faced retaliation with the injury of three soldiers in an attack on an armoured patrol.

But the attack is likely to have far more widespread consequences, and could weaken the ability of international forces to take decisive military action if they fear the consequences.

In a separate incident, US forces are being accused of storming into a hospital in Wardak province, north-west of the capital Kabul, in a late night raid in search of insurgents.

The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, which runs the hospital, says that its employees were tied up by soldiers who spent two hours searching the hospital.

The committee says this was in clear violation of international principles as well as local agreements, and makes their humanitarian task more difficult.