Karzai orders investigation into deadly US-led airstrike

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered an investigation into the recent US-led airstrike which claimed the lives of eight civilians. A statement released by Karzai’s office on Sunday said that he has dispatched a delegation to investigate the incident. On Saturday, a man, his wife and six of their children were killed in a US-led airstrike in the village of Suri Khail in the Gurda Saria district of Paktia Province. The loss of civilian lives at the hands of US-led foreign forces has dramatically increased anti-American sentiments in Afghanistan, triggering anti-US protests across the volatile country. Despite showing outrage and displeasure over the US-led airstrikes and civilian casualties, the Afghan leader signed a security pact with US President Barack Obama in early May, allowing the American forces to stay a decade longer beyond 2014 in the war-ravaged country. US-led troops have been fighting in Afghanistan since 2001. Their initial offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across the country despite the presence of about 130,000 foreign forces.