Afghans Protest Rising Civilian Deaths

Hundreds of Afghans have protested in Mazar-i-Sharif against rising civilian deaths.

Protesters chanted slogans against foreign forces and Afghan President Hamid Karzai after U.S. troops killed two civilians in a pre-dawn raid on July 7 in the northern city's outskirts.

NATO also admitted killing six people with stray artillery on July 8, a day after an airstrike accidently killed five Afghan soldiers.

Meanwhile, a wave of attacks has killed six U.S. troops and at least a dozen civilians in Afghanistan's volatile south and east.

In the eastern border province of Paktia, unidentified gunmen killed 11 Pakistanis who had crossed into Afghanistan to buy supplies.

compiled from agency reports