Gates apologises for Afghan child deaths

This breaks our heart, Gates told a news conference at the presidential palace in Kabul. He also called the incident a setback for US relations with the Afghan people.The comments on the first day of a two-day trip came after Karzai angrily rejected an apology from General David Petraeus, the US commander of international troops in Afghanistan.Nine young boys died in a NATO air strike targeting insurgents last week as they were collecting firewood in the eastern province of Kunar.In response to Gates, Karzai said he respected the apology and called for civilian casualties to be halted altogether.Gates also insisted that US troops will be well-positioned to start a limited withdrawal from Afghanistan in July.But he stressed the US was not pulling out altogether after July and would maintain unrelenting pressure on the Taliban.Afghan forces are due to take control of security across the country in 2014, allowing foreign forces to leave.Hundreds of people took to the streets of Kabul on Sunday to protest against the deaths, shouting slogans including Death to America -- death to the invaders.Karzai is expected to give details of where the transition process will start on March 21. The US has not yet announced how many troops it will initially withdraw.