Afghan parliament condemns US air strikes

KABUL (AFP) — The Afghan parliament condemned Monday civilian casualties in US-led air strikes after Afghan officials said more than 40 people were killed in two recent raids, including one that struck a wedding.

The UN representative to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, expressed "grave concern" about the allegations -- rejected by the coalition -- and called for investigations to clarify what happened.

Various parliamentary committees held a special meeting on the strikes, which happened on Friday and Sunday in remote and mountains areas on the eastern border with Pakistan.

"The Afghan people cannot tolerate American forces' bombing of civilians any more," deputy speaker of the Lower House, Mirwais Yasini, told reporters after Monday's meeting.

"We are are stuck between a rock and a hard place, between Taliban attacks and foreign forces air strikes," he said.

Civilians are regularly caught up in violence linked to an extremist insurgency launched after the hardline ...