Shouting ‘Death to America! Death to Karzai!’

Afghan and U.S. Reports on Firefight Differ

BARIKAW, Afghanistan (AP) March 4 – An explosives-rigged minivan crashed into a convoy of Marines that U.S. officials said: “also came under fire from militant gunmen.” As many as 10 people were killed and 34 wounded as the convoy made a frenzied escape, and injured Afghans said the Americans fired on civilian cars and pedestrians as they sped away.

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At the Jalalabad hospital, several victims said the American convoy approached them on the highway and opened fire. As the convoy neared, many cars pulled over to the side of the road, but were still hit by gunfire.

“When we parked our vehicle, when they passed us, they opened fire on our vehicle,” said 15-year-old Mohammad Ishaq, who was hit by two bullets, in his left arm and his right ear. “It was a convoy of three American Humvees. All three humvees were firing around.”

Afghan men carry a body of a civilian who, they said, allegedly was killed by American soldiers after a car bomber attacked an American convoy in Barayekab in Nangarhar province, eastern Afghanistan. Up to eight Afghans were killed and 22 wounded in the blast and ensuing gunfire, officials said. Hundreds of Afghans gathered to protest the violence, blocking the road and throwing rocks at police. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Mohammad Karim, an 18-year-old employee at a hotel near the blast site, said he ran outside after the explosion and saw American forces fire a stream of bullets at a four-wheel drive vehicle.

“I ran to the vehicle to see how many people were inside. We found three dead bodies, and one wounded, but he was also in a very critical condition,” he said. “All four people were from one family. The one who was wounded was about 20 years old.”

An AP reporter at the scene said the vehicle was riddled by dozens of bullets.

U.S. forces later deleted photos of the vehicle taken by a freelance photographer working for The Associated Press and video taken by a freelancer working for AP Television News. Neither the photographer nor the cameraman witnessed the suicide attack or the subsequent gunfire.

The freelance photographer, Rahmat Gul, said an American soldier took his camera and deleted the photos, saying he didn’t have permission to take them. Gul said a soldier later said it was OK to take photos, but that the first soldier came back and angrily told him to delete the photos again. Gul said the soldier then raised his fist as if he was going to strike Gul.

The U.S. forces involved in the attack and ensuing gunfire were part of the U.S.-led coalition, not NATO’s International Security Assistance Force. An official who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to release the information said the troops were Marine Special Operations Forces.

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Lt. Col. David Accetta, the top U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan, said gunmen may have fired on U.S. forces at multiple points during the escape. He said it was not yet clear how the casualties happened, though he left open the possibility that U.S. forces had shot civilians.

“It’s not entirely clear right now if the people killed or wounded by gunfire were killed or wounded by coalition forces gunfire or enemy attackers gunfire,” he said.