Night attacks in Afghanistan cause high civilian casualties

A Reuters report from Afghanistan begins with the heartbreaking story of a family of non-combatants in which multiple members were killed in a midnight NATO attack: “They were casualties of a night raid, a controversial tactic that has been stepped up dramatically since General David Petraeus took over running the Afghan war last year, despite strong opposition led by President Hamid Karzai. There were nearly 20 each night over the past three months, according to a senior NATO official who requested anonymity.”