Afghans condemn 'civilian deaths'

Afghans have taken to the streets in different cities to protest against the alleged killing of 10 civilians, including school children, in military operations by international forces in the country's east. A statement from the office of President Hamid Karzai said the deaths occurred on Sunday in a remote part of Kunar province on the border with Pakistan. Against the backdrop of Wednesday's protests, US sources confirmed that at least five Americans and four Afghans had been killed in an attack on a US military base in Khost, Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra said. A suicide bomber targeted the sports hall of the base, sources told Al Jazeera. In a separate attack, responsibility for which was claimed by the Taliban, three Canadian soldiers were killed in Kandahar province, our correspondent said.