Nato says strikes on Afghan homes 'necessary'

Nato air strikes on houses in Afghanistan are necessary and will continue in coordination with Afghan forces, the alliance said on Tuesday, after President Hamid Karzai said such operations must stop. -- PHOTO: AFP

BRUSSELS - NATO air strikes on houses in Afghanistan are necessary and will continue in coordination with Afghan forces, the alliance said on Tuesday, after President Hamid Karzai said such operations must stop.

Spokesman Oana Lungescu said Nato and Afghan authorities are investigating Saturday's bombing of a compound in Helmand province, which Mr Karzai said left 14 civilians dead, but made clear there would be no halt to such operations.

'There will be continued coordination with Afghan security forces on such operations. They are necessary, they continue to be necessary, but they are conducted in coordination and together with Afghan security forces,' the spokesman told reporters. -- AFP