The NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement Sunday that its troops were responsible for the women's deaths in a village near Gardez, the capital of eastern Paktya province, on February 12.

Two newspapers -- the New York Times and Britain's The Times -- said Monday that the foreign troops involved in the shooting were members of US special forces who tried to cover up the deaths by removing bullets from the bodies.

An ISAF spokesman told AFP he could not comment on the nationality of the troops or the cover-up claims.

Neither was there any immediate comment from the Western-backed Afghan government that has condemned previous killings of civilians during NATO and US-led military operations, which have inflamed public sentiment in the past.

The women were in the same compound as two armed men who were killed by members of a joint international-Afghan patrol after appearing to show "hostile intent," the NATO statement said.

"We deeply regret the outcome of this operation, accept responsibility for our actions that night and know that this loss will be felt forever by the families," said ISAF spokesman Brigadier General Eric Tremblay.

"The force went to the compound based on reliable information in search of a Taliban insurgent and believed that the two men posed a threat to their personal safety.

"We now understand that the men killed were only trying to protect their families."

Tremblay said international forces were working with their Afghan counterparts to prevent any similar future incidents.

The admission comes as NATO and US forces try to reduce civilian casualties, which are often used by Afghan politicians and the Taliban to whip up public opposition to the presence of foreign troops.

ISAF said soon after the incident that the three women were found bound and gagged but the latest statement said the claim was based on a report by troops unfamiliar with Islamic burial customs.

Investigators assessed the women were accidentally killed when the soldiers fired at the two men but no exact cause of death was given due to lack of forensic evidence.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was publicly rebuked by the White House for blaming massive fraud during his re-election on the international community, had on Sunday called for an end to house searches in Afghanistan.

The head of US and NATO troops, General Stanley McChrystal, has introduced tactical changes to reduce the risks to civilians, such as paring back air strikes and raids on residences.

"When there's an incident, he (McChrystal) comes and apologises," Karzai told tribal leaders in Kandahar, the spiritual home of the Taliban which is expected to be the focus of a major anti-insurgency push in the coming months.

"There've been changes in behaviour with the arrival of this new general but we are still not convinced. I want more changes," Karzai added.

"I want house searches to be stopped in Afghanistan," he said, calling for an end to foreign troops detaining Afghans during such operations.

The United Nations has said that the overwhelming majority of civilian deaths -- put last year at 2,412 -- are caused by Taliban assaults, usually through crude bombings and suicide attacks.

On Sunday, three women and one man were killed and four children injured, one of them critically, when their car hit a mine placed by "the enemies of Afghanistan" in southern Ghazni city, the interior ministry said.

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News