At least 25 civilians were killed and 50 injured in an armed attack on a Sunni mosque Sept. 10 in the Maskanai area of lower Dir (NWFP), Pakistan. Unidentified militants threw grenades in the mosque in Banai village, less than three kilometers from the Afghan border during Taravih (Ramadan night prayers) and fired at the worshipers. No group has claimed responsibility, even as security forces cordoned off the area and beefed up security after the attack.

A NATO air-strike in Afghanistan's Khost province missed its target Sept. 9, striking a house, killing two civilians and wounding 10. NATO said their forces were targeting an insurgent position when a weapon accidentally misfired, veering one and a half miles of course. "An immediate investigation into the cause of the incident has been launched and further details will be forthcoming once established," a NATO statement said. (BBC, ABC, Reuters, Sept. 9)

From Human Rights Watch, Sept. 8:

Afghanistan: Civilian Deaths From Airstrikes on the Rise
Airstrikes Cause Public Backlash, Undermine Protection Efforts
New York – Civilian deaths in Afghanistan from US and NATO airstrikes nearly tripled from 2006 to 2007, with recent deadly airstrikes exacerbating the problem and fuelling a public backlash, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. The report also condemns the Taliban's use of "human shields" in violation of the laws of war.

NATO-led forces killed three Afghan children and injured seven in artillery fire Sept. 1 after a patrol came under fire from presumed Taliban insurgents in Gayan district, Paktika province. The rounds fell close to a house where the children were later found dead, according to a statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). "ISAF deeply regrets this accident and an investigation as to the exact circumstances of this tragic event is now under way," the statement said. Afghanistan's government counts more than 500 civilians killed during operations by foreign and Afghan forces this year.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported that an investigation by its human rights team found that some 90 civilians were killed, including 60 children, during operations carried out by international and Afghan military forces on Aug. 21 in Shindand district in Afghanistan's western Herat province—contradicting claims of the US government.

At least 20 people were injured in a bomb blast at a pro-autonomy rally in Pakistan's Baluchistan province Aug. 26. Officials said a bomb rigged to a parked motorcycle detonated near the rally's stage in the town of Jaaferabad, leaving some people in a critical condition. The rally was held to mark the second anniversary of the killing during a military operation of Nawab Akbar Bugti, a tribal chieftain and former Baluchistan governor. Bugti led an armed campaign to pressure the central government to award Baluchistan a larger share of revenues from oil and gas extracted from the region.

Afghanistan's interior ministry says US-led forces killed 76 civilians in an Aug. 20 operation—directly contradicting the US military, which said 30 suspected Taliban died. "Seventy-six people, all civilians and most of them women and children, were martyred during the operation by coalition forces in Shindand district of Herat province," the ministry said Aug. 22. "Nineteen women, seven men and the rest children all under 15 years of age," were killed in the operation, the statement said—one of the highest civilian deaths tolls since the 2001 US-led invasion.

A Los Angeles Times report, "US debates going after militants in Pakistan," mostly quotes unnamed US officials as saying direct intervention in Pakistan is being viewed with greater seriousness as the country spins out of control. One attributed quote is from Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said some two months ago a team of up to 30 advisors would be sent to Pakistan this summer to operate out of a base near Peshawar, where a "significant number" of Pakistani military and Frontier Corps personnel would be put through a counterinsurgency training program. (LAT, Aug. 23)