Commander apologizes for Afghan airstrike

KABUL, Afghanistan — The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan apologized to President Hamid Karzai for a drone strike that killed a child and NATO promised an investigation Friday as rising tensions threatened efforts to persuade the Afghan leader to sign a long-delayed security agreement.

Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford called Karzai late Thursday to express “deep regrets for the incident and any civilian casualties,” the commander’s spokesman said.

Karzai condemned the attack, which also wounded two women earlier Thursday, and said all airstrikes and foreign raids on Afghan homes must stop if the United States expects him to sign the pact that would allow thousands of Americans to stay in the country beyond a 2014 withdrawal deadline.

The two governments have agreed on a draft bilateral security agreement, and it was approved by a consultative Afghan council known as a Loya Jirga. But Karzai shocked the assembly and the Americans when he announced he would not sign the deal but would instead leave that up to his successor after April 5 elections. The 2,500-member Loya Jirga had also demanded it be signed by the end of next month.

The Obama administration has been trying to persuade Karzai to change his mind and sign the deal by the end of the year to allow enough time to make preparations for a presence after the U.N. mandates for foreign troops in the country expire at the end of next year.