Afghan Leader Calls for New Tactics Against Terrorism

Afghan President Hamid Karzai called Thursday for a reassessment of the U.S.-led coalition’s strategy for fighting terrorism, saying the current approach of hunting down militants does not focus on key factors such as money, training and motivation.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military said four soldiers had been killed Wednesday in combat in eastern Afghanistan.

A clearly frustrated Karzai complained that the hunt for Taliban militants was costing the lives of hundreds of Afghans, saying that “is not acceptable.” More than 600 people, mostly militants, have been killed recently in insurgents’ deadliest campaign of violence in years.

“I strongly believe ... that we must engage strategically in disarming terrorism by stopping their sources of money, training, equipment and motivation,” Karzai said. “It is not acceptable for us that in all this fighting, Afghans are dying.” Even “if they are Taliban, they are sons of this land,” he said.

Afghan and coalition forces have been targeting Al Qaeda and Taliban militants along the Pakistani border since mid-April. They launched Operation Mountain Thrust last week with more than 10,000 Afghan, British, Canadian and U.S. troops deploying in the largest anti-Taliban offensive since the former regime’s 2001 ouster.

The four U.S. soldiers were killed and a fifth wounded while trying to block insurgent forces in the eastern province of Nuristan, the military said. Ground troops and attack planes were called in to keep up the assault.