Afghanistan's president rejected General David Petraeus's apology for the accidental deaths of nine Afghan boys in northeastern Afghanistan. In a meeting on Sunday, Petraeus said the killings were a "great mistake" and that there would be no repeat. Palace officials relayed from President Hamid Karzai that Petraeus's apology was "not enough," and that "civilian casualties caused during operations by coalition forces were the main cause of strained relations" between their countries. Attack helicopters mistook the boys for insurgents and gunned them down on Tuesday as they collected firewood near their homes. Afghan officials say that in the eastern part of the country, more than 80 civilians have died in the past two weeks.
