Afghan President Hamid Karzai is reaffirming his opposition to night raids that coalition forces are conducting to capture and kill midlevel Taliban insurgents. In a press conference on Tuesday,
Karzai said he had lengthy discussions about night raids and civilian deaths at last weekend's Nato summit in Lisbon, Portugal.
He says he told Nato leaders at the summit of his concerns that nighttime operations disrupt daily life and lead to the death of innocents.
However, Nato says the raids are a key part of its counterinsurgency strategy to rout insurgents from their strongholds, improve security and provide an opportunity for the Afghan government to bolster governance and services to the people.