Coalition disputes reports of airstrike killing family of 8
Source: Agencies |
May 28, 2012, Monday
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THE US-led coalition yesterday disputed reports that eight civilians, including children, were killed in a NATO airstrike in a remote part of eastern Afghanistan.
Afghan officials said an airstrike on Saturday night killed eight members of a family, but a senior NATO official said that so far, there is no evidence of civilian casualties.
The killing of civilians by foreign forces has been a major irritant in Afghan President Hamid Karzai's relationship with his international partners.
He warned earlier this month that civilian casualties could undermine a strategic partnership with the United States that is to govern long-term relations after most international troops withdraw by the end of 2014.
Karzai appointed a delegation to travel to Paktia province and determine what happened.
The coalition also said it was working to find out more about the operation that foreign forces were conducting.
Rohullah Samon, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said Mohammad Shafi, his wife and their six children were killed in the airstrike in Suri Khail village of Gurda Saria district.
"Shafi was not a Taliban. He was not in any opposition group against the government. He was a villager," Samon said. "Right now, we are working on this case to find out the ages of their children."
Such attacks damage the civilian population's trust in international troops who have been fighting in the country for more than a decade.
Taliban attacks have killed more civilians than foreign forces, but public anger over the issue is usually directed at the international forces.
Tensions spiked after Afghan officials reported that 18 civilians were killed in four recent airstrikes in Logar, Kapisa, Badghis and Helmand provinces. That led Karzai to issue his warning earlier this month.
"If the lives of Afghan people are not safe, the signing of the strategic partnership has no meaning," Karzai's office said.
NATO also reported that four coalition service members were killed in separate roadside bomb attacks on Saturday in southern Afghanistan, bringing to 166 the number of NATO deaths this year.
Britain's Ministry of Defence said one of its soldiers was killed in an explosion in the Nahr-e Saraj region of southern Helmand province. The nationalities of the other victims were not released.
Elsewhere, two civilians were killed when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Marjah district of Helmand province.
Afghan officials said an airstrike on Saturday night killed eight members of a family, but a senior NATO official said that so far, there is no evidence of civilian casualties.
The killing of civilians by foreign forces has been a major irritant in Afghan President Hamid Karzai's relationship with his international partners.
He warned earlier this month that civilian casualties could undermine a strategic partnership with the United States that is to govern long-term relations after most international troops withdraw by the end of 2014.
Karzai appointed a delegation to travel to Paktia province and determine what happened.
The coalition also said it was working to find out more about the operation that foreign forces were conducting.
Rohullah Samon, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said Mohammad Shafi, his wife and their six children were killed in the airstrike in Suri Khail village of Gurda Saria district.
"Shafi was not a Taliban. He was not in any opposition group against the government. He was a villager," Samon said. "Right now, we are working on this case to find out the ages of their children."
Such attacks damage the civilian population's trust in international troops who have been fighting in the country for more than a decade.
Taliban attacks have killed more civilians than foreign forces, but public anger over the issue is usually directed at the international forces.
Tensions spiked after Afghan officials reported that 18 civilians were killed in four recent airstrikes in Logar, Kapisa, Badghis and Helmand provinces. That led Karzai to issue his warning earlier this month.
"If the lives of Afghan people are not safe, the signing of the strategic partnership has no meaning," Karzai's office said.
NATO also reported that four coalition service members were killed in separate roadside bomb attacks on Saturday in southern Afghanistan, bringing to 166 the number of NATO deaths this year.
Britain's Ministry of Defence said one of its soldiers was killed in an explosion in the Nahr-e Saraj region of southern Helmand province. The nationalities of the other victims were not released.
Elsewhere, two civilians were killed when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Marjah district of Helmand province.
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