Deadly explosion arouses new Afghan anger at US

American forces inspecting an engineering project in eastern Afghanistan paused to toss candies to a clutch of curious Afghan children on Wednesday when a large explosion tore through the crowd. The blast turned a common gesture of friendship by American forces into what for Afghans has become an all too common tragedy, setting off angry recriminations and protests. Five people were killed: two schoolboys, two Afghan adults and an Afghan policeman, according to the district police chief in Nangarhar Province, where the deaths occurred. In a statement, a NATO spokesman said that international forces were investigating, but that they believed that the blast was caused by unexploded ordnance, which can be extremely volatile. The events provided another example of how fragile relations between Afghans and Americans have become, and how ready Afghans angered over civilian casualties are to blame American forces in virtually any circumstance.