Karzai says US airstrikes not the way to beat the Taliban

Kabul: The US military says reports that as many as 147 civilians died in fighting involving American forces and the Taliban are "extremely over-exaggerated."

Officials said preliminary findings of the joint US-Afghan investigation into the deaths in the villages of Ganjabad and Gerani in the western Farah province will be announed soon.

A local official said that he collected from residents the names of 147 people killed during fighting on Monday night and Tuesday.

President Hamid Karzai told CNN on Friday that the airstrikes are "not acceptable." He said "you cannot defeat terrorists by airstrikes."

Karzai said the government estimated the number of civilian deaths in the incident to be 125 to 130.