KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 17 (UPI) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s request that Afghan forces stop requesting international airstrikes in residential areas will be honored, U.S. officials said.
“We can continue to support the Afghan National Security Forces and meet the president’s intent,” U.S. Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. said Sunday.
On Saturday, Karzai blasted a joint Afghan-NATO attack last week that killed 10 people, including women and children, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The president then issued a decree that “no Afghan military and security forces in any circumstances can ask for the foreigners’ planes for carrying out operations in Afghanistan’s homes and villages.”
“We’re going to work through the details [of Karzai’s order] in the coming days,” Dunford said. If airstrikes are limited, “there are other ways we can support the Afghan forces besides aviation.”
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