AP source: US made bombing errors in Afghanistan

[June 03, 2009]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- A defense official says the U.S. military's failure to follow tightened rules for aerial strikes likely caused some of the deaths in a U.S. bombing in Afghanistan that killed dozens of civilians.

This was the chief finding of an internal Pentagon investigation into a May 4 incident in western Afghanistan. It was related by a defense official on grounds of anonymity because of sensitivity of the situation.

The official noted that errors were made in the early May attack -- an incident that has strained relations between Washington and Kabul and caused resentment among the Afghan people.

American military commanders on a number of occasions have rewritten the rules covering U.S. bombing missions in ways calculated to avoid civilian casualties, most recently late last year.

[Associated Press; By PAULINE JELINEK]

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