KABUL, Afghanistan – President Karzai ordered an inquiry yesterday into an American bombing that killed at least 16 civilians, including some at a religious school, and called for a meeting with the commander of American forces in Afghanistan.

It was the second time in five weeks that Mr. Karzai has complained about civilian deaths from airstrikes by the American-led coalition.

American warplanes targeted the southern village overnight Sunday because Taliban fighters were hiding there, and dozens of the militants were killed. It was one of the deadliest American attacks since the American-led invasion in 2001.

Mr. Karzai expressed “concern at the coalition forces’ decision to bomb civilian areas” in the village of Azizi in Kandahar province, but he also strongly condemned the “terrorists’ act of cowardice” in using civilians as human shields.

Local officials said 17 civilians died in the bombings of an Islamic school and mud-brick homes, and the American-led coalition said at least 20 – and perhaps as many as 80 – militants were killed.

An American military spokeswoman, Lieutenant Tamara Lawrence, said she could not comment on whether the military would change its tactics after the Azizi bombing.

An official with the New York-based Human Rights Watch said the attack was “completely predictable and avoidable,” and he accused the Taliban of purposely endangering civilians.

“In southern Afghanistan, civilians are caught in the crossfire, and we expect it’s going to be a long and bloody summer,” the head of the group’s Asia division, Sam Zarifi, said. “Taliban insurgent forces who take shelter in a civilian area knowing that it’s going to draw hostile fire are violating international law.

“There is some evidence that was happening in this case.”

Mr. Zarifi also said the coalition should change its tactics to avoid civilian casualties. “This sometimes means not launching attacks in certain civilian-heavy areas, and using the right weapons,” he said.

In 2004, the American military said it had modified its rules of engagement after Mr. Karzai expressed outrage over the deaths of 15 children in two airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan. But officials refused to say how the rules had been changed, saying that would only help militants.

Mr. Karzai is on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates, and the statement from his office said that on his return to Kabul he would summon the commander of American-led coalition forces in Afghanistan – Lieutenant General Karl W. Eikenberry – for a “full explanation.”

Lieutenant Lawrence said Mr. Karzai and General Eikenberry talk frequently, and “we will provide any information that the president requests on coalition operations.”

“We would also stress that the government of Afghanistan shares our concern that enemy fighters are knowingly putting noncombatants’ lives at risk, and together we will continue to take all measures to prevent injury to innocent civilians,” she said.