Merkel, Brown urge U.N. Afghan conference this year

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on Sunday for a U.N. Conference on Afghanistan by the end of the year, Reuters reported.

U.N. officials said on Friday the United Nations was seeking to arrange a summit in Afghanistan early next year to tackle political and economic issues in the strife-torn country.

Afghan officials say scores of people, many of them civilians, were killed when a U.S. F-15 fighter jet called in by German troops struck two hijacked fuel trucks late last week.