KABUL, Afghanistan, July 20, 2008
NATO: 4 Civilians Killed In Afghan Strike
Afghan Official Says Separate Coalition Air Strikes Killed 9 Afghan Police
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Photo
An Afghan police officer stands guard near the site of an explosion in Maywand district in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Saturday, July 19, 2008. (AP Photo/Allauddin Khan)
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The reported civilian and police deaths could damage popular support for the Afghan government as well as for foreign forces operating here. President Hamid Karzai has pleaded with the U.S. and other nations fighting resurgent militants to avoid civilian casualties.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force said it was investigating whether three other civilians also were killed Saturday night in the Barmal district of Paktika province when its troops fired two mortar rounds that landed nearly half a mile short of their target.
The alliance said it was providing medical aid to four civilians who were wounded.
"ISAF deeply regrets this accident, and an investigation as to the exact circumstances of this tragic event is now under way," it said in a statement.
On the other side of the war-torn country in Farah province, a convoy of foreign forces showed up in Anar Dara district near the Iranian border and clashed with Afghan police, killing nine of them, said provincial Deputy Governor Younus Rasuli.
He said the foreign troops had not informed local officials they were coming, and the police thought they were enemy fighters. The two sides fought from about midnight until 4 a.m. Sunday, and the foreign forces used air strikes, Rasuli said.
The U.S.-led coalition said it was investigating the report. It said its forces, along with Afghan troops, had retaliated in defense against "a non-uniformed hostile force."
"The combined patrol signaled their status as coalition forces, but continued to receive fire," a military statement said. "Coalition forces then returned small arms fire and engaged the enemy with precision close air support."
Also Sunday, a NATO soldier was killed during fighting in the eastern Khost province, the alliance said in a statement. NATO did not identify the soldier's nationality, but most of the troops in that area are American.
Separately, a mine exploded under a civilian vehicle in Gereshk district in the southern province of Helmand on Sunday, killing three children and wounding four other people, said provincial police Chief Mohammad Hussein Andiwal.
Andiwal accused Taliban militants of planting the mine on a road frequently used by Afghan and foreign troops.
On Saturday, militants attacked a police checkpoint in the same district but in the ensuing gunfight three Taliban fighters were killed, Andiwal said. No police were injured in that clash, he said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense said Afghan troops battled insurgents in the southern Kandahar province on Saturday, killing 18 militants, wounding 25 and detained 15 others.
In neighboring Zabul province, Afghan troops killed nine militants and wounded seven others, the ministry said in a statement.
Neither claim could be independently verified.
Afghanistan faces intensifying militancy nearly seven years after the U.S.-led invasion of the country ousted the hard-line Islamic Taliban movement from power.
More than 2,500 people have died in insurgency-related violence this year in the country, according to an Associated Press tally of official figures.
Most have been militants, but the total includes hundreds of ordinary citizens.
NATO and the coalition insist they take great precautions to avoid civilian casualties.
Commanders accuse insurgents of endangering innocents by launching attacks from residential areas and by carrying out suicide attacks that kill far more bystanders than security personnel.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Excellent points, "hermitdave".
These dead civilians brought to you in part by the latest "technology" advancements from the oily, yet greedy executives of Exxon-Mobil, and as part of the "Human Energy" harvesting operations at Chevron-Texaco.
Its call casualities and its part of the price you pay during war.Why is it even news?
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Spoken like a true republican thug. It is not a casualty, it is murder. Get it?
Onward with your endless death and destruction you pig.
Re: "President Hamid Karzai has pleaded with the U.S. and other nations fighting resurgent militants to avoid civilian casualties."
When will the puppet "Mayor of Kabul", Hamid Karzai, realize that his opinions and belly-aching are not taken seriously by anyone?
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It was NATO forces. As far as you bad mouthing my fellow brothers in arm------Go FU*k yourself
9-11 was committed by Al Qaeda and Jihadists. The country of nationality of the actual hijackers is unimportant, but the religion and theology of those people is and was critical. AQ is composed of people from over 20 countries. The only thing they all have in common is they are all Islam, and they all believe non-Muslims should die. Your statement re Afghans and NATO is staggering in it''s ignorance.
www.jihadwatch.org
hermitdave,
I think that you hit a little too close to home for my impersonator here.
VVV---VVV
Following the events of 9/11/01, Taliban officials offered to hand over CIA asset, Osama bin Laden, to face charges. Their only condition was that U.S. officials present evidence of Osama''s involvement in these attacks. The Bush regime declined, because they had no such evidence, and because they intended to attack the people of Afghanistan regardless of whether or not they were involved in the 9/11 events.
No matter how many soldiers are killed and maimed in Afghanistan, no matter how many Afghan wedding parties are bombed by U.S. planes, no matter how many civilians are tortured and slaughtered by U.S. agents, and despite the futility and pointlessness of this self defeating military misadventure, many Americans continue to champion the war of aggression against Afghanistan as a noble cause. Billions upon billions of dollars in U.S. treasure continue to be transferred to war profiteers and druglords as a result, while to blood of U.S. soldiers continues to be needlessly spilled.
Many cite Afghanistan as the gravestone of the former Soviet Union- the final nail in the coffin, as they were ultimately forced to withdraw, unable to successfully maintain a military occupation of the country. The U.S. now not only faces a humiliating military defeat in Afghanistan, but a crippling multi-tiered defeat in Iraq, on the economic, military, and moral fronts.
In any case, the pernicious, evil, pro-Jihadist, pro-terrorist nonsense he is spreading is clear for any person with an IQ over 25 to see.
As we all should know by now, the US did not attack Afghanistan per se. Rather, it went after Al Qaeda bases in Afghanistan, which were allowed and supported and sanctioned by the Taliban. Taliban and Al Qaeda are in effect the same enemy and people. When you hear the word %u201CTaliban%u201D, it is equivalent to saying %u201CAl Qaeda forces that are in Afghanistan%u201D. Both factions are Jihadist, anti-Western, and believe in killing non-Muslims simply because of the difference in religion. After 9-11, the US administration gave the Taliban repeated deadlines to turn over ALL Al Qaeda in their country. They refused every single time. This is part of the historical record. The US attack on the Taliban in October 2001 was supported by over 90% of the American people. Congress was virtually unanimous in it%u2019s approval. Even today, this war is referred to as the %u201Cright war%u201D. History revisionists should be exposed for who they are.
www.jihadwatch.org
Join our AMERICAN support league. www.theseriouspolice.com
p.s American troops that die, don''t get this much news now days. It''s a sin!
But the News Media only cares about helping the terrorists win. The real enemies are here.
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Thank you for pointing that minor detail out. People need to read between the lines.
How can you leftist''s vote for a guy that want''s to continue this mess in Afghanistan?
Does''nt make much sense to stop killing civilians in Iraq and start killing them in Afghanistan.
high-five missed and he continued forward
down one of afghanistan''s thousand-footers."
It isn''t to see that the strongest faction
in Afghanistan doesn''t take it over.
And shouldn''t it be implicit that in the
rebuilding that it''s done with the least
amoung of bloodshed?
Let the Taliban or whoever rule the
country, accept like grown ups the
punishment for the greed of abandoning
total victory in Afghanistan for the
gamble that we could steal all of the
available-to-be stolen oil in the area
and work with them to rebuild it.
Then return to the legal and less
blood-letting tactic of dialog to
improve human rights in other
countries.
As it was in Viet Nam, we need a daily body count of the ''enemy'' to impress the folks back home.
As it was in Viet Nam, none of it makes any sense.
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by feelfree4u
July 22, 2008 3:17 PM PDT
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Reply to this comment
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See all 32 CommentsHow many more Afghan civilians must we pointlessly murder before we know that we have "won"?