NATO seeks ways to cut Afghan civilian toll

By Rodney Joyce

KABUL (Reuters) - NATO forces in Afghanistan vowed on Thursday to improve coordination with Afghan authorities to avoid civilian casualties, after a warning from President Hamid Karzai that his people were losing patience over the bloodshed.

The push to ease the toll on civilians came as a British soldier was killed in fighting in the south of the country and a roadside bomb blasted an Afghan army bus in Kabul, killing the driver and wounding 29. A Danish soldier died of his wounds suffered on Sunday.

Nearly 60 civilians have been killed in raids by U.S.-led coalition troops in the past week, Afghan officials say, sparking four days of anti-American, anti-Karzai protests.

"There's absolutely room for additional coordination," Lieutenant Colonel Maria Carl, a spokeswoman for the NATO-led ISAF security force, told reporters asking about civilian deaths and Afghan concerns they were not involved in planning Western military operations.

"We are seeking new ways, all of us in country -- the government, the coalition, ISAF -- to improve these processes."

While Afghan protests over civilian casualties have been mainly small, government officials, NATO and analysts all warn that a steady stream of civilian deaths will inevitably erode support for Karzai and the war against the Taliban, who were driven from power in 2001.

Protesters called this week for the removal of Karzai for failing to stop the civilian killings, which have come amid an upsurge in violence as the Western-backed government and the Taliban seek a decisive advantage in the battle for the country.

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