US DEFENSE SECRETARY ARRIVES IN AFGHANISTAN
Baku, September 2 (AZERTAC). U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is in Afghanistan for meetings with President Hamid Karzai and the commander of NATO forces in the country, U.S. General David Petraeus, according to voanews.
Gates landed in Kabul Thursday from Baghdad, where he attended ceremonies Wednesday marking the end of the U.S. military`s seven-year combat mission in Iraq.
Just as the U.S. defense secretary arrived, President Karzai announced that a NATO air strike hit a convoy of election campaign workers Thursday in the north, killing 10 civilians.
He condemned the strike. NATO said an investigation is underway. Civilian casualties have long been a source of tension between the Karzai government and U.S. and NATO forces. General Petraeus has pledged to review military operations to ensure the safety of Afghan civilians.
NATO also reported that two American soldiers and 28 insurgents, including a Taliban commander, have been killed in the latest fighting in Afghanistan.
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