* Petraeus apologises for civilian deaths
* Orders commanders, helicopter crews be "re-briefed"
* Karzai condemns "daily" civilian killings by foreigners
(Recasts with Petraeus apology)
By Hamid Shalizi and Jonathon Burch
KABUL, March 2 (Reuters) - The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan made a rare apology on Wednesday for an air strike that killed nine civilians after Afghan lawmakers warned a spike in such raids was hampering efforts to end the war against the Taliban.
U.S. Army General David Petraeus ordered all military commanders and attack helicopter crews to be re-briefed on the rules for carrying out air raids after a spate of recent civilian casualty incidents in the east.
Members of parliament angrily denounced two recent NATO strikes in eastern Kunar province in which they said more than 73 civilians were killed, about half of them children, and called on Petraeus to explain.
NATO recognised civilian casualties as a strategic problem, undermining the support of ordinary Afghans for the decade-long war against the Islamist insurgents.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has a testy relationship with his Western backers, also condemned what he called the "daily" killings of innocent Afghans in foreign air strikes. He described as "merciless" the latest incident in Kunar, in which nine children were reported killed.
Petraeus said the 150,000-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) took "full responsibility" for the deaths, adding disciplinary action would be taken if warranted.
"We are deeply sorry for this tragedy and apologise to the members of the Afghan government, the people of Afghanistan and most importantly, the surviving family members of those killed by our actions," Petraeus said in a statement.
"These deaths should have never happened and I will personally apologise to President Karzai when he returns from his trip to London this week."
"PARTICULARLY DISTRESSING"
Civilian casualties caused by NATO-led and Afghan forces hunting insurgents have become a great source of friction between Karzai and Washington but U.N. figures show insurgents are responsible for more than three-quarters of the total.
Tension has grown steadily over the past two years as foreign troops have stepped up operations against a growing Taliban-led insurgency, mainly in the south and east.
ISAF commanders have issued directives over the past two years tightening the rules governing air strikes and night raids, leading to a drop in civilian casualties caused by their troops.
Petraeus said the latest civilian casualties were "particularly distressing" because they came after he had instructed commanders to review his directive, which is aimed at keeping civilian casualties to an "absolute minimum".
"Regardless of the outcome of this investigation, I have ordered all ISAF leaders and members of ISAF attack helicopter crews to be re-briefed on the tactical directive, reinforcing the need to be sure we protect the lives of innocent Afghans."
Afghan lawmakers earlier demanded an explanation, with some calling for a demonstration outside the U.S. embassy in Kabul.
"These killings must be stopped or the people will rise against foreigners and we will stand by them," Ramazan Bashardost, a candidate in the 2009 presidential election, told parliament.
There have been at least four claims of civilian casualties in the east in the past two weeks, two of the worst in Kunar, but Afghan officials and ISAF had disagreed over the events.
On Tuesday, officials said nine children collecting firewood had been killed in Mano Gai town in a NATO air strike after insurgents attacked an ISAF base with rockets. ISAF initially said those killed were insurgents.
On Feb. 20, Kunar governor Fazlullah Wahidi said 64 civilians, including 29 children, had been killed during coalition raids over the previous four days. [ID:n SGE71J00K ]
Senior ISAF officials have disputed the accounts of that incident but agreed to a joint investigation.
Violence across Afghanistan is at its worst since the Taliban were ousted in 2001, and civilians bear the brunt.
A United Nations report late last year found that civilian casualties in Afghanistan rose 20 percent to 6,215 in the first 10 months of 2010 compared with 2009, with more than three-quarters killed or wounded by insurgents.
(Editing by Paul Tait and Miral Fahmy) (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email tonews.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)
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