As America mourned the deaths of five of its personnel in Afghanistan, a NATO air strike that claimed eight Taliban fighters also killed 10 children and two women.  Both attacks occurred in the eastern part of the country near the border with Pakistan.  One of the Taliban was reportedly a senior commander.

NATO is not confirming the civilian casualties, but does say that air support was brought in after the Americans were killed in the militant attack on Saturday.  NATO was targeting senior Taliban commanders and their weapons caches.  Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, condemned the strike and called for an investigation into the civilians' deaths.

On Saturday, a roadside bomb decimated a convoy carrying a young diplomat, another American civilian, three troops, and an Afghan doctor assisting their humanitarian mission.

The Diplomat is identified as 25-year old Anne Smedinghoff of suburban Chicago.  She had personally assisted Secretary of State John Kerry when he visited Afghanistan two weeks ago.  She served as his control officer, an honor often bestowed on up-and-coming members of the U.S. Foreign Service.

Kerry described Smedinghoff as “a selfless, idealistic woman who woke up yesterday morning and set out to bring textbooks to school children, to bring them knowledge.”

Saturday’s attack was the deadliest for the Americans since last August.