Nato pledges Afghan strike probe

Aftermath of the blast in Kunduz province Nato has promised a full investigation into an air strike on two fuel tankers that killed up to 90 people in Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province. The alliance said many Taliban insurgents who had hijacked the tankers were killed but it admitted it had reports of many civilian casualties. The Nato-led forces said they regretted "any unnecessary loss of human life". President Hamid Karzai said targeting civilians was "unacceptable" and announced his own investigation panel. Map of the area A statement from his office said the president expressed "deep sorrow for the loss of our compatriots" and "emphasised that innocent civilians must not be killed or wounded during military operations". Sensitive issue Gen Stanley McChrystal, issued new guidelines recently saying much more still needed to be done to avoid civilian casualties. The number of those killed in the Kunduz strike is still not confirmed, with reports varying from 56 to 90. The reports of the number of militants and civilians killed also varies. Pictures from Kunduz showed members of the local community preparing some of those who died for burial, while others showed images of the injured being treated in hospitals. The Nato attack occurred about 7km (four miles) south-west of Kunduz city at about 0200 on Friday (2130 Thursday GMT), 40 minutes after German and Afghan forces called in an air strike. They reported the two tankers had been hijacked by insurgents as they travelled from Tajikistan to supply Nato forces in Kabul. One of the drivers of the tankers told the BBC that two of his colleagues had been beheaded when the Taliban carried out the hijacking. Witness Mohammad Daud, 32, told AFP the militants had been trying to transport the tankers across a river to villages in Angorbagh. "They managed to take one of the tankers over the river. The second got stuck." Locals in Kunduz prepare the dead for burial after the air strike The insurgents apparently opened valves to lighten the load and called in villages to help themselves to fuel. At this point, the Nato air strike hit the tankers. Nato insists its commanders believed only militants were present. When day broke, clothing, shoes, jerry cans and other debris could be seen strewn around the two stricken tankers. Mr Daud said: "Everyone around the fuel tankers died. Nobody was in one piece. Hands, legs and body parts were scattered everywhere." International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) spokesman Brig Gen Eric Tremblay was later quoted by Reuters as saying: "It would appear that many civilian casualties are being evacuated and treated in the local hospitals. The air strike came shortly before UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown delivered a key speech defending the Afghan strategy. He said the aims of Britain and its allies there were "realistic and achievable".