International Forces Reject UN Afghan Report

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The international forces in Afghanistan have rejected a UN committee's report that U.S. military forces in Afghanistan have killed hundreds of children in attacks over the last four years. James Graybeal, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force, told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that the concerns "are categorically unfounded." He said, "equally unsubstantiated is their assertion that U.S. forces use indiscriminate force during their operations." The Geneva-based UN Committee on the Rights of the Child says the casualties were "due notably to [a] reported lack of precautionary measures and indiscriminate use of force." The UN review on policies affecting children is conducted every four years, and its release came as U.S. policy on drone targeting and air strikes is under increased scrutiny in Washington.