"U.S. airstrikes slam multiple Afghan targets," October 12, 2001, (Note:CNN.com places this one mention of the bombing deaths at the end of an article on another topic.)

This phrasing avoids images of real people; 'targets' makes deaths bound like intended successes.

"[US Defense Secretary] Rumsfeld reacted angrily Thursday afternoon to Taliban accusations that the United States was deliberately targeting civilians. The Taliban envoy to Pakistan had suggested early in the day that 200 civilians had been killed during the airstrikes. Rumsfeld repeated tact the United States and Britain...were targeting only militarily significant targets. That said, Rumsfeld added that he was regretful that the loss of innocent life in such an operation was unavoidable.

"U.S. Resumes Airstrikes in Afghanistan" (October 12, 2001)
"The Taliban claimed that at least 200 villagers were killed by a missile strike in Karam... British officials dismissed the report as propaganda."

The headline makes no mention of civilians killed. The following phrases imply that the Taliban "claim" is not supported and place the British officials' claim as the last sentence, legitimizing the British claim over the Taliban's.

"The Allied forces engaged in bombing have stressed that civilians are not the targets of bombing while acknowledging that some casualties are inevitable. 'There is no questions but that when one is engaged militarily that there are going to be unintended loss of life," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said. "Casualty reports from within Afghanistan are extremely difficult to verify."

This quote concludes the question of civilian deaths by implying that all Afghanistan accounts are questionable.