Did US forces execute Afghan children?

The Times of London is reporting that American-led troops were accused yesterday of dragging innocent school-children from their beds and shooting them (after hand-cuffing some of them) during a night raid that left ten people dead.  Protests erupted in Kabul and Jalalabad, with burning of a US flag as well as an effigy of Mr. Obama.

Impossible, you say?  Bear in mind:

• US Marines and soldiers were accused of similar attacks in Iraq.  In some cases the evidence was pretty much overwhelming, but the soldiers involved generally got off with a slap on the wrist, at worst.  (Google "Haditha massacre" if you want more info.)
• One of the not-so-often cited reasons for the "success" of the "Surge" in Iraq was the use of Special Forces operations to quickly and brutally "eliminate bad guys."  The general who oversaw those operations was none other than Stanley McChrystal, who was brought in by Obama to head up a "more aggressive and innovative" US military effort in Afghanistan precisely because of his effectiveness in Iraq.

The operation described in the London Times is just the kind of operation in which McChrystal excels.