Allied commander apologises for deadly airstrike

The commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan took his apology for an airstrike that killed civilians directly to the Afghan people, with a video in which he pledged to work to regain their trust.

In the video, translated into the Afghan languages of Dari and Pashto on a Nato website, a stern General Stanley McChrystal apologised for the strike in central Uruzgan province that Afghan officials said killed at least 21 people.

Sunday's attack by Nato jets on a convoy of cars was the deadliest attack on civilians in six months and prompted a sharp rebuke from the Afghan government.

It came as Nato was struggling to win public backing for a major military offensive against the Taliban in south.