German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung has called for a rethink of US military tactics in Afghanistan after US coalition operations caused a spate of civilian casualties.

"We need to make sure that in future operations don't take place in this way," Jung told reporters on Monday in Brussels where he was meeting with his EU counterparts.

 

"We don't want the population against us," he said. "We have to prevent that."

 

Jung said the killing of civilians antagonized the local population and jeopardized international efforts to win the "hearts and minds" of ordinary Afghans.

 

"It is precisely the wrong tactic," the Defense Minister said. Jung added that he had raised the issue with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.