KABUL — Afghanistan's government welcomed Saturday a U.S. report accepting blame for a bombing run that killed dozens of villagers, saying it confirmed that international military forces were not doing enough to safeguard civilians.

The investigation into a May battle against Taliban militants that killed at least 26 civilians was released Friday in Washington. The report recommends tighter controls — including how airstrikes are conducted — to limit the civilian deaths that risk turning Afghans against the U.S war effort.

Humayun Hamidzada, the spokesman for President Hamid Karzai, said he believed that the U.S. estimate of civilians killed in the May 4-5 clash in western Farah province was too low but generally welcomed the report's conclusions.

"The key thing is that the report itself said there are problems with the way operations are conducted, and that's what we've been saying," he told The Associated Press.

The report comes as President Barack Obama funnels thousands of new troops into Afghanistan to combat a strengthened Taliban insurgency which is claiming growing numbers of American lives too.

Meanwhile, an attack on a convoy in eastern Afghanistan killed a member of the U.S.-led coalition on Saturday morning. A bomb explosion also killed a NATO service member in the south on Friday, the international forces said in statements without providing further details.

The international military engagement in Afghanistan, which began with the toppling of the Taliban in late 2001, has been punctuated with incidents in which civilians have died during military operations.

The Farah battle was one of the worst.

The report said that three U.S. airstrikes conducted after dark near the close of the chaotic fight probably accounted for the civilian deaths. It concluded that at least 78 Taliban fighters also were killed, along with five Afghan National Police officers.

The Afghan government has said 140 civilians died, while an Afghan human rights group has said around 100 civilians died.

"We believe the number is much larger, but it's not useful to debate the numbers," Hamidzada said.