On February 18th Afghan President Hamid Karzai banned Afghan forces from calling in NATO airstrikes in residential areas. This is in response to an airstrike which killed 4 militants and ten civilians the previous week. The order, directed at the defense ministry, the interior ministry, and the National Directorate of Security states that, "During operations, you do not call for air support from international forces operations in residential areas." Currently, NATO forces only use airstrikes as a last resort in defensive conditions. The NATO rule went into effect last June when 18 civilians were killed in an airstrike at what turned out to be a wedding. US forces say they will abide by the new rule and that it will not impede security functions.
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