Are U.S.-Led Forces Behind Deaths of Innocent Afghan Civilians and Police?

That is the question. I'll let the wire service (AssPress in this case) fill you in on some of the details.

KABUL, Afghanistan - Military officials are investigating two clashes in which Afghan civilians and police may have been killed by U.S.-led coalition forces, authorities said Monday.

The U.S. military has begun an inquiry into Saturday's deaths of seven Afghan civilians after American forces using aircraft and artillery battled militants in a house and a cave complex in Afghanistan's Kunar province, which borders Pakistan.

The Canadian-led military in the southern Kandahar province also said it was investigating whether "friendly fire" was responsible for casualties sustained by Afghan police during fierce fighting there Friday against Taliban forces.

Afghan authorities said 41 Taliban militants and six Afghan police were killed during the fighting in Sangisar, a former Taliban stronghold near Kandahar city. It was the bloodiest battle in a surge in rebel attacks that threatens the government's shaky grip on the country more than four years after the fall of the Taliban.

The government has previously complained about heavy-handed tactics by U.S.-led forces, and the swift announcement of probes into the deaths appears to reflect greater openness on the part of the coalition, which says its forces go to extreme lengths to avoid innocent casualties.

Saturday's clash in Kunar province came during an ongoing operation involving 2,500 Afghan and coalition forces to flush out Taliban-led militants, one of the biggest offensives since the Taliban's ouster for hosting Osama bin Laden.

The U.S. military said about eight to 10 militants opened fire on U.S. forces, who returned fire and called in support from warplanes and artillery. It said several Taliban forces were killed and others took shelter in a house and nearby cave where civilians were living.

U.S. military spokesman Maj. Matt Hackathorn said they stopped firing once they realized civilians were in the area. After the firefight ended, local village elders said seven people had been killed and three wounded.