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Afghan President Hamid Karzai recognizes that the United States is a friend and ally even as he warns that civilian casualties in Afghanistan risk making US-led troops appear to be an occupying force, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday.

Gates, who spoke to reporters in Hawaii while en route to an Asian security conference, was reacting to Karzai's statement on Tuesday that raids on Afghan homes in pursuit of insurgents are "not allowed" and his threat to take action if a spate of civilian casualties does not stop.

Karzai expressed anger over NATO airstrikes on Sunday in southern Helmand Province that killed at least nine people, most of them small children.

"This is a continuing challenge that we face in the kind of war that we are fighting in Afghanistan," Gates told reporters, when asked about Karzai's comments.

"I think joint investigations of these incidents, when they happen, are important so that we can mutually figure out what exactly happened and what, if anything, went wrong," he said.

Gates noted that General David Petraeus, the head of NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, had a good dialogue with Karzai, and that 80 percent of civilian casualties in Afghanistan are caused by the Taliban.

"The Afghan people have put up with 30 years of war, and I think President Karzai is reflecting the pain and suffering the Afghan people have had to endure," Gates said.

US President Barack Obama plans in July to start a gradual drawdown of US troops in Afghanistan.

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.