'Civilians die' in Afghan offensive

At least 12 Afghan civilians have been killed during a major military offensive in the south of the country, the Nato-led military force said. The victims died after a rocket hit their house on Sunday, the second day of Operation Moshtarak, which aims to wrest control of the town of Marjah and neighbouring areas in Helmand province from the Taliban. "Two rockets from a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System [HIMARS] launched at insurgents firing upon Afghan and Isaf forces impacted approximately 300 metres off their intended target, killing 12 civilians in Nad Ali district," the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said in a statement. The statement said that the intended target of the rocket had been a Taliban compound from which fighters had shot and injured one Nato and one Afghan soldier. The Nato-led force said that General Stanley McChrystal, the US and Nato commander in Afghanistan, had apologised to Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, over the deaths.