Washington - The United States accidentally killed an estimated 26 Afghan civilians last month when a warplane did not strictly adhere to rules for bombing, the U.S. military concluded in a report that recommends even tighter controls to limit deaths that risk turning Afghans against the U.S war effort.

An Afghan boy places dirt over the grave of one of his family members after air strikes. (Photo: Reuters Pictures)

    "The inability to discern the presence of civilians and assess the potential collateral damage of those strikes is inconsistent with the U.S. government's objective of providing security and safety for the Afghan people," the report prepared by U.S. Central Command said.

    Three U.S. airstrikes conducted after dark near the close of the chaotic fight in the western Farah pro?ince probably accounted for the civilian deaths, according to the report released Friday. It contained only mild criticism of the B-1 bomber crew involved, however, and the nation's top military official has already said there is no reason to punish any U.S. personnel.

    Local Afghan officials have said as many as 140 people were killed, and the U.S. report did not rule out that its estimate is low. An exact accounting will be impossible, the report said. It concluded that at least 78 Taliban fighters were also killed, along with five Afghan national police officers. Two U.S. personnel and seven Afghan security officers were wounded.

    The deaths last month raised the stakes in a growing battle for the good will of Afghan civilians, whose allegiance Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said is crucial if the United States is going to win the faltering war in Afghanistan.

    The report contains no surprises - U.S. officials had already given rough estimates of the number of deaths - but provides a vivid narrative of a firefight that stretched from dawn to night. It recommends refining procedures for operations with the potential to kill civilians and ensuring that training matches the rules.

    Other recommendations include improving the military's ability to get its side of the story in front of Afghans faster, something commanders say is frustratingly difficult. The U.S. should be "first with the truth," the report said.

    The report promised a follow-up in four months on how well new tactical rules are working.

    The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, told a Pentagon news conference Thursday that he has seen nothing in the investigation that would call for disciplinary action against the U.S. forces involved.

    Mullen added that the complex, seven- to eight-hour fight, revealed gaps in the chain of command and some training shortcomings.

    Mullen said he is satisfied that U.S. forces involved in the battle were sufficiently sure of their targets and believed that civilians would not be injured when they fired.

    Gates has said the accidental killing of civilians in Afghanistan has become one of the military's greatest strategic problems in a war his commanders have called a stalemate at best.

    Gates has also said the thousands of new U.S. troops deploying in Afghanistan can lessen the reliance on airstrikes, which are responsible for most of the civilian deaths at U.S. hands.

    He has directed his new general running the war in Afghanistan to find new ways to reduce the number of deaths.

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    On the Net: Copy of report

www.truthout.org/062009C