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US Bombing: 60 children among Afghan dead

KABUL, Afghanistan: A United Nations human rights team (UNAMA) has found “convincing evidence” that some 90 civilians — among them 60 children — were killed in air strikes on a village in western Afghanistan on Thursday night, a statement issued by the United Nations mission in Kabul said, making it almost certainly the deadliest case of civilian casualties caused by any United States military operation in Afghanistan since 2001.

Mohammad Iqbal Safi, the head of the parliamentary defense committee and a member of the government commission, said the 60 children were between three months old and 16 years old, all killed as they slept. “It was a heart breaking scene,” he said.

The death toll may even rise higher since heavy lifting gear is needed to uncover all the remains, said one Western official who had seen the United Nations report.

US CLAIM 25 MILITANTS KILLED

The United Nations report adds pressure to the United States military, which has to date said only that 25 militants and five civilians were killed in the air strikes, which were aimed at a Taliban named Mullah Saddiq. The military announced it was conducting an investigation after the high civilian death toll was reported.

The bombing occurred around midnight, the United Nations statement said. “Foreign and Afghan military personnel entered the village of Nawabad in the Azizabad area of Shindand district,” it said. “Military operations lasted several hours during which air strikes were called in.” “The destruction from aerial bombardment was clearly evident, with some 7-8 houses having been totally destroyed and serious damage to many others.”

Afghanistan attack was ‘legitimate’ hit at Taliban: Pentagon

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US military said Monday that an attack by coalition forces in Afghanistan last week which allegedly killed dozens of civilians was a “legitimate” assault on Taliban forces.

“We continue at this point to believe that this was a legitimate strike against the Taliban,” said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.

“Unfortunately there were some civilian casualties, although that figure is in dispute, I would say. But this is why it is being investigated,” Whitman said.

Whitman declined to comment, though, on the demand by the Afghan cabinet to renegotiate agreements regulating the presence of international troops following the strikes.


People take part in a protest after an US air strike in Azizabad district of Shindand, in Afghanistan. (Reuters)

Final straw for Afghan leader after child death toll in air strike hits 60

Suddenly the Infidels Attacked

Afghans Incensed by Air Attack on Village of Azizibad

(IWPR) – Amid the conflicting statements, anger is growing among Afghans.

“Americans think that all Afghans are terrorists, and they send rockets and missiles against us,” said Gulbuddin, a resident of Azizabad. “I myself buried more than 50 women and children. Are all of them terrorists?”


An Afghan woman who lost family members weeps after air strikes on Friday in Azizabad district of Shindand (Reuters)

According to the New York Times, the bomb struck a gathering of local people who had gathered to honour the memory of a man who died one year earlier.

This was borne out by Fatima, 25, who lost eight members of her family, including her husband and children, in the attack. She spoke to IWPR from her hospital bed in Herat, where she wept and cursed those who carried out the air strike.

“We were holding a memorial service in our home,” she said, tears running down her face. “Suddenly the infidels attacked and I lost consciousness. When I came to, I was in hospital, and they told me that all of my family were dead and already buried. Was my two-year-old child a terrorist? Then am I not also a terrorist? Why did they let me live?”

Lieutenant Nathan Perry, spokesperson for the American-led coalition , told IWPR that the air strike was aimed at Taleban insurgents, specifically a commander called Mullah Siddiq. Thirty people died, he said – 25 terrorists and five members of Mullah Siddiq’s family.

The Afghan government has confirmed the accounts of residents, and has issued heated condemnations of the attack.

Naimatullah Shahrani, the Minister for the Hajj who was appointed head of a presidential commission tasked with investigating the Azizabad attack, told IWPR that no insurgents were killed.

“According to our investigation, there was not a single armed individual from the opposition in the area,” he said. “During the air attack on Azizabad, 90 people died, including women, children and old men. This is cruel behaviour on the part of the foreign forces, and it can greatly complicate the security situation.”

At an August 25 meeting, the Afghan cabinet called on the defence and foreign ministries to open negotiations with the international forces on the terms of their presence in Afghanistan. It demanded an end to air strikes against civilians, as well as searches and detentions it termed “illegal”.

The Azizabad bombing is the latest in a string of attacks on civilian targets in the past few months.

In July, American bombs hit a wedding party in the southeastern province of Nangarhar, killing at least 47 people, including the bride.

American forces are still investigating the latest strike in Herat province, but Lt. Perry insisted that US forces target only insurgents.

“Every operation is based on confirmed and re-confirmed information and data,” he insisted. “But I cannot speak about those informants.”

In the past two months, civilians have also been killed in Nuristan, Laghman, and Kunar, according to Afghan government sources. The Azizabad incident is by far the bloodiest incident, but it is by no means isolated.

Afghan government sources insist such events are the result of poor coordination between the Afghan National Army and its foreign military allies.

“The Coalition forces coordinated the ground attack [in Azizabad], but there was no coordination on the air strike,” said General Zahir Azimi, addressing journalists in Kabul. “When you study the area that was bombed, you can see that there was no need for an air strike.”

Lt. Perry, however, maintains that the attack was carried out in full coordination with the ANA.

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

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