NATO apologized on Monday for killing at least nine Afghan civilians, after President Hamid Karzai was in “last warning” to the occupation forces in the country.

NATO apologized on Monday for killing at least nine Afghan civilians, after President Hamid Karzai was in “last warning” to the occupation forces in the country.

"I want to offer my sincere apologies for the nine civilians who were killed during the incident in Now Zad District, Helmand province, that occurred on 28 May," said a statement from Major General John Toolan, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) commander for the southwest region of Afghanistan.

Occupation forces on Saturday hit a compound, which was a home for civilians, in a deadly strike in the southern province of Helmand. Local officials put the death toll at fourteen civilians, including children and women: five girls, seven boys and two women.

Toolan claimed that it was the coalition's "top priority" to avoid civilian casualties, adding that a full investigation was under way.
"While I know there is no price on human life, we will ensure that we make amends with the families in accordance with Afghan culture," the major General added.

The apology came after Karzai's office issued a "last warning" to US and NATO-led occupation troops over civilian casualties describing Saturday’s incident as a great mistake.

Footage and pictures from Helmand showed turbaned men carrying the bodies of children in the aftermath of Saturday's incident.
Aslam, a local elder of Nawzad district, told AFP news agency he "lost 12 relatives while 10 others including children were injured" in the air strike.

The United Nations says Afghan civilian deaths in the war increased 15 percent to a record high of 2,777 last year.