UPDATED ON:
Monday, September 08, 2008
15:03 Mecca time, 12:03 GMT
 
News CENTRAL/S. ASIA
US to review deadly Afghan raid
Afghan officials say the strikes in Herat
killed 90 civilians [File: EPA]

The most senior US commander in Afghanistan has asked for another inquiry into US air raids that Afghan and UN teams say killed 90 civilians.

General David McKiernan, who heads the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), said in a statement late on Sunday there was "emerging evidence" about the incident in Herat province.

"I feel it is prudent to request that US Central Command send a general officer to review the US investigation and its findings with respect to the new evidence," he said.

His statement was issued from the main US base at Bagram, north of Kabul, the Afghan capital.

The US-led coalition has rejected the civilian tolls from the August 22 strikes on the western village of Azizabad, in Shindand district, saying only five to seven civilians were killed along with 30 to 35 fighters.

'Considerable fallout'

If the toll of 90 is confirmed, it would be one of the deadliest such incidents since the US led troops into Afghanistan seven years ago to remove the Taliban from government.

James Bays, reporting for Al Jazeera from Kabul, the Afghan capital, said villagers where the attack happened say more than 90 civilians, about 60 of them children, died in the raids.

"There will be considerable fallout from this incident," he said.

"It has strained relations betwen US commanders and the Afghan government. Some UN officials are barely speaking to the US military, and there is unease among Nato nations but - most importantly - it [the incident] will affect Afghan public opinion, turning more people against foreign military involvement in their country."

The Afghan government says that there is video footage with its intelligence agency supporting its claim that more than 90 were killed.

A Western official also says he has seen mobile telephone footage that shows children among the dead lined up in a mosque before they were buried.

"The video clearly shows 40-50 people under shrouds with at least 11-12 children with their heads blown off and their faces melted," he said on condition of anonymity.

Adrian Edwards, a UN spokesman, said meanwhile that "the UN continues to stand by its finding".

The coalition has said it called in the strikes in Shindand after its troops, said by Afghans to be special forces, came under attack while on patrol with Afghan commandos.

"Mistakes by the US and Nato have dramatically decreased public support for the Afghan government and the presence of international forces providing security to Afghans"

Brad Adams, Human Rights Watch Asia director

It says the dead civilians were relatives of a senior Taliban commander, who was among the dead.

But Afghan locals have said that the strikes hit people gathered overnight ahead of a ceremony to mark the death of an important local.

The incident prompted Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, to sack two senior Afghan army officers for western Afghanistan.

His government also demanded a review of the regulations governing the presence of international troops in Afghanistan.

Civilian deaths from international air strikes in Afghanistan nearly tripled between 2006 and 2007, said the New York-based Human Rights Watch on Monday.

Death toll

It said that in 2006 at least 699 Afghan civilians were killed in Taliban attacks, including suicide bombings, and at least 230 in international military action, around half in air strikes.

In 2007, at least 950 died in attacks by the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and at least 321 in air strikes.

HRW said the Taliban were guilty of causing civilian deaths by using ordinary people as "human shields" against troops, including by deploying into villages.

Tom Porteous, HRW's director in London, told Al Jazeera that in the past Nato and the US have tended to react to reports of large numbers of civilian casualties after air strikes by denying them.

Then, he added, "as evidence emerges they blame the Taliban for taking refuge among the civilian poulation".

"While we have have found evidence that the Taliban on some occasions have deliberately used civilians as human shields - and that is entirely reprehensible and against the law - that is not a valid defence for the very high number of civilian casualties that Nato and the US are causing," he said.

The international forces, and the US military in particular, needed to "end the mistakes that are killing so many civilians", said Brad Adams, HRW's Asia director, in a statement accompanying the report.

"Mistakes by the US and Nato have dramatically decreased public support for the Afghan government and the presence of international forces providing security to Afghans," he said.

"Civilian deaths from air strikes act as a recruiting tool for the Taliban and risk fatally undermining the international effort to provide basic security to the people of Afghanistan."

 Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Feedback Number of comments : 12
 
onix
Netherlands
08/09/2008
HRW
unfortunate that HRW is quoted so pronounced. This "New- York" based organisation lost every spark of credibility in georgia, by promoting complete subjectivity. (worldwide a georgian speaker accuses russia of evrything georgia did, and is widely broadcasted as a source as reliable as HRW herself. (completely unreliable). similarly i think we have no clue what is going on in afghanistan, that this would be the biggest incident i hugely doubt. Noone rich profits by making worse public thats all.

Christopher Belz
Afghanistan
08/09/2008
US to review deadly Afghan raid
They are lying. they enjoying killed the civilians, dont care whether they are Tabilan or civilians as the UN's rule suppose not to kill anyone. Every time there's a bomb it alway blame on Tabilan but where is the proof or US plant the bomb to look blaming on Taliban

Capistrano
France
08/09/2008
deadly Afghan ride
The responsible U.S. armed forces have been extremely implausible for a long time. They examine and hush in a thing of your own. These attacks on civilians and civilian aims are pure retaliatory strikes. What says the international law to these retaliatory strikes.

Lazarus1956
United States
08/09/2008
US to review deadly Afghan raid
Taliban and Al Qeda know precisely that this kind of "incident" causes their enemies (US & NATO forces) to lose support among the Afghan people. One has to wonder just how many of these incidents are actually "setup" by them for propoganda purposes.

Amori
Canada
09/09/2008
Fallout
Canadians please leave the Americans in Afghanistan, I don't think the Afghans can differentiate between people from Canada and the States. Our troops will be thought of as being American, and will suffer because of American stupidity.

todd
United States
11/09/2008
Canadians
I used to like Canadians but the thought of even saying the word canada turns my stomach makes me sick when are the good Canadians going to stand up to the bad ones and stick up for their southern neighbor who has shed so much of their own blood in defense of their freedom.It hasn't been the canadian army protecting them all these years. Its been U S boys dieing for them so they could have a small army.

Arsalan
Afghanistan
11/09/2008
Brutal killings
Feel bad that the most sponsored democratic country can also turn upside down when it comes to lying. we are already aware that almost a month back when US attacked a group of children in a marriage ceremony n didnt accept it as a blunder. the locals with help of Taleban attacked US base. we all know then that that was the biggest revenge attack on US. I expect and wait to hear more revenge attacks on the US. Surely they (US) will fall.What goes up must fall-INSHAH ALLAH

Ayub
Afghanistan
08/09/2008
US and NATO murderering.
I can't believe they say only 5 o6 children died and not 90,and that they will investigate.How cruel and cold hearted could they be to make such a remark.The US and NATO are murdereing innocent people and they know it.they are frustrated because they know it's not possible to defeat these aged warriors.With all the modern,sophisticated military the US & NATO are actually loosing and that is why they just bomb everything and everyone randomly.Super cowards and murderers,get out.

ItsMrHarris2u
United States
08/09/2008
civilian death
Civilians die in war, it is sad, but true. If you want to protect your civilians, don't go to war and make sure that you aren't in a position for a war to come to you. How many civilians died before TV cameras took over? I fear that nobody cared...

Gary Craig
Afghanistan
08/09/2008
Afghan air raid
The U.S. insists on using air power to go after bad guys. This has never worked going all the way back to WW. II. Air power is a terrorist tactic. Bombs and missiles can not discern good from bad guys. Consequently, we continue to kill women and children. The bombing becomes a recruiting poster for terrorists groups.

Melissa
Canada
09/09/2008
US to review deadly Afghan raid
Anger at civilian deaths from US air strikes causes retaliation against all NATO forces. The US is relying on air power to prevent casualties among their own troops, resulting in more casualties among those of their allies. With friends like this, who needs enemies?

Abu Aman
Pakistan
10/09/2008
Shameful act !
Shameful act ! US / NATO must apologize to the people & families of the victims plus the government of Pakistan, if they claim this was an inadvertent act and if it was premeditated then "Shame on"!

 
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