KABUL, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who arrived in the Afghan capital of Kabul late Tuesday, talked with President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday expressing regret over civilian casualties, a statement released by the Presidential Palace here said.

    "In talks with the President, Mr. Gates expressed deep regret and sorrow over civilians killed in Herat province and hoped that adopting precautionary measures would prevent civilian deaths during military operations," the statement added.

    More than 90 civilians, mostly women and children, had been killed during air strikes against suspected Taliban hideouts by the U.S.-led Coalition forces in Shindand district of the western Herat province last month.

    The deadly strikes triggered massive demonstrations and prompted the Afghan government to review the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan.

    "U.S. Defense Secretary in the meeting assured President Karzai that the U.S.-led Coalition forces would take every possible measure to avoid civilian casualties," the statement added.

    Some 3,800 people have been killed in conflicts and Taliban-linked insurgency so far this year in Afghanistan and 1,445 of them, according to a UN report released recently, are civilians.