US President Barack Obama has made an apology for the latest Afghan civilian deaths by a US-led airstrike in a video conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

"The president expressed his sorrow over tragic civilian casualties, most recently in Helmand province," said White House spokesman Jay Carney in a Wednesday briefing.

The hour-long video conference came a week after Karzai issued a stern warning to the US following a US-led airstrike that killed 12 children and two women in Helmand province, AFP reported.

However, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) claimed that only nine were killed in the strike.

Such incidents are "murdering of Afghanistan's children and women," Karzai said in a statement released from his office last week.

"US and NATO troops have been repeatedly told that their arbitrary and unnecessary operations cause the deaths of innocent Afghans and such operations violate human and moral values but it appears that (we) are not listened to," Karzai said.

The United Nations said 2010 had seen a 15 percent climb in civilian deaths compared to 2009, making last year the deadliest year for civilian casualties since the 2001 US-led invasion.

Since Obama came to the White House, Afghanistan has witnessed an increase in the number of occupying foreign troops. Nearly 150,000 US-led foreign troops are currently deployed in the war-torn Afghanistan.

Tension between Washington and Kabul has intensified following the recent airstrike that again led to the loss of innocent lives.

Source: Azadnegar