US 'regret' over aid drop deaths
The US military has expressed its regret after two Afghan civilians were killed when aid supplies dropped by parachute crushed their house.
The airdrop, near Mazar-e-Sharif, was delivered by a US military aircraft.
The supplies of wheat, blankets and cold weather equipment hit a house where a woman and her young daughter lived.
The flight originated at Ramstein Air Base, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Frankfurt, Germany, according to Central Command spokesman Lt Col Martin Compton.
The bundle weighed 540 kilograms Lt Compton said.
"The US deeply regrets any unnecessary loss of life," Central Command said in a statement. "US Central Command will examine the details of how this tragic accident occurred and will put in place appropriate corrective actions."
Compton said there were no immediate plans to halt the drops.
"We've got to continue because we've got to get the gear out to the folks," Compton said.
The accident comes as the US Air Force prepared to drop its two millionth package of humanitarian rations over Afghanistan.
