A military investigation found that those involved in the May 4 operation in the Farah province failed to follow rules and tactical procedures designed to prevent civilian casualties, two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

The air strikes involved the use of large 2,000-pound bombs that may have been too powerful given the proximity of civilians to intended targets, one of the officials said.

The investigation was ordered by General David Petraeus, head of Central Command which oversees the Afghan war, as he wanted an "outside pair of eyes" to review what transpired in Bala Buluk during a clash with Taliban insurgents, he said.

The probe's findings, first reported in The New York Times, will be presented soon to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the final version of the report likely will be publicly issued next week, officials said.

The report marked the most direct admission so far from the US military that it had made mistakes in the attacks, which triggered an angry public reaction in Afghanistan.

Civilian casualties -- often from US air power -- have caused mounting outrage among Afghans and friction with the Kabul government, with US and Western officials anxious about handing propaganda victories to the Taliban.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai demanded a halt in air strikes after the incident at Bala Buluk, in which his government says 140 civilians died.

An earlier probe by US forces in Afghanistan found that 20-30 civilians were killed along with 60-65 insurgents. Afghanistan's top rights body said 97 civilians, most of them children, were believed to have died.

The latest investigation, carried out by Brigadier General Raymond Thomas, examined bombing raids by F/A-18 fighter jets and a B-1 bomber that were called in to back up Afghan forces and US advisers who came under attack from the Taliban, officials confirmed.

The general chosen to lead US and NATO forces in Afghanistan warned US senators at a hearing on Tuesday that the war against insurgents could be lost unless civilian casualties were reduced.

Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal, nominated to take over in Afghanistan after commander General David McKiernan was sacked, said that civilian deaths from coalition operations risked alienating the Afghan people and undermining the entire war effort.

The US military in Kabul said video taken from a B-1 bomber had clearly shown there were Taliban fighters in the targeted buildings, a spokeswoman said.

"We were called in to support Afghan forces on the ground under fire," Lieutenant Commander Christine Sidenstricker told AFP.

"We came in on a rescue mission. Commanders on the ground made the decision they felt was best," she said, adding "a lot consideration was given to where civilians may have been."

The Taliban militia on Wednesday released findings of what it called its own investigation into the incident, listing the names and ages of 142 civilians out of 166 it claims were killed.

It confirmed its fighters clashed with Afghan and foreign troops, whom it labelled "looters" and "invaders," but said the Taliban had made a "tactical withdrawal" and the bombing started 10 hours afterwards.

The Taliban regularly issue inaccurate statements with propaganda a key tactic in their insurgency.

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