KABUL, AFGHANISTAN, AND ISTANBUL, TURKEY — In an incident that could seriously undermine the central U.S. aim in Afghanistan, dozens of civilians were killed or injured early Friday in a NATO airstrike, Afghan authorities said.
The predawn strike on a pair of hijacked fuel tankers in a remote part of northern Kunduz province killed more than 70 people, most of them civilians, according to Afghan police, provincial officials and doctors.
Dozens of villagers suffered serious burns in the massive fireball ignited when the tankers were hit, they said.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is investigating the incident, which comes at a time of deepening political turmoil in Afghanistan. Tensions are running high as votes are tallied in the country's disputed presidential election.
Only days earlier, Western military officials touted figures showing a dramatic drop-off in civilian casualties inadvertently caused by Western troops, crediting strict new rules of engagement for the decline during July and August.
Upon assuming command of American and other Western forces in Afghanistan in mid-June, U.S. Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal declared the safeguarding of civilian lives his top priority, noting that such casualties, perhaps more than any other single factor, erode Afghan support for the presence of foreign forces.
In the initial hours after Friday's strike in Kunduz, Western military officials expressed confidence that nearly all those killed were insurgents.
But later reports trickling in from the scene painted a grim picture of impoverished villagers being engulfed by the explosion while trying to siphon fuel from the stranded tankers.
The incident could increase the strain on ties among NATO allies, further complicating the troubled war effort. The strike was called in by German troops, who make up the bulk of Western forces in Kunduz. Involvement in such a controversial act could depress already flagging domestic support in Germany for the Afghan mission.
Not long ago, Kunduz, near the border with Tajikistan, was considered a relatively quiet corner of the country, making it a logical base for German forces, who operate under strict "caveats" limiting their engagement in active combat. But insurgents in recent months have made increasingly bold forays into the area.
