The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan has defended the actions of U.S. special forces that killed 16 Afghans in botched January raids.

General Tommy Franks, Commander of the U.S. Central Command, says those killed were at fault for opening fire on the raiding U.S. troops.

He says there was no intelligence failure in the two simultaneous raids north of Kandahar, and surveillance indicated the compounds were being used by al-Qaida or Taleban leaders.

General Franks says the deaths were unfortunate. But he says the soldiers involved acted professionally and will not be subjected to disciplinary action.

U.S. forces also detained 27 Afghans in the incident. They were later released after interrogation revealed they were not Taleban or al-Qaida. Afghan sources say those captured and killed were supporters of the Afghan interim government and were collecting weapons in a disarmament drive.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.

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