U.S. loses support by killing Afghan civilians-Italy

ROME (Reuters) - U.S.-led raids that killed dozens of civilians in western Afghanistan in recent days are worrying NATO allies and could jeopardise Afghan civilian support, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said on Wednesday.

Italy heads NATO's Herat-based regional command in western Afghanistan and has contributed 1,900 troops to the NATO-led peacekeeping mission there.

"We cannot hide that the ways in which this operation was conducted, which have caused strong protests among the local populations ... constitute a source of major concern for Italy and the other countries involved in Afghanistan," D'Alema said.

"We risk losing the support of the local population," he added.

U.S.-led forces hunting Taliban guerrillas have killed nearly 60 Afghan civilians in the past week, Afghan officials say. The deaths sparked four days of anti-American protests that also criticised President Hamid Karzai for not stopping the killing.

Karzai warned the Americans on Wednesday that Afghans' patience was wearing thin over the killings, an increasingly sensitive issue because of the upsurge in Taliban attacks.